London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202447104)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202447104

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

17 October 2025

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

1. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Handling of a leak and the collapse of a ceiling.
   2. Complaint handling.

Background

2. The resident has an assured tenancy of a 2-bedroom maisonette. The resident’s son is asthmatic. The landlord is a housing association.
3. On 18 November 2024 the resident reported water coming through the living room ceiling, which then collapsed. The landlord visited the same day and told the resident not to use the room.
4. On 19 November 2024 the resident complained to the landlord and said:
   1. After the living room ceiling collapsed the landlord completed emergency repairs but could not trace the leak. It said a surveyor would visit the next day, but the landlord had not inspected.
   2. There was black mould and possibly asbestos. She was concerned the property was unsafe and worried for the health of her son.
   3. The landlord should inspect, provide temporary accommodation if the property was unsafe, fix the leak and repair the damage.
5. The landlord sent its stage 1 response on 4 December 2024. It apologised and said it would do the repairs on 12 December 2024. It awarded £187.12 compensation. This comprised £147.12 for the loss of use of the living room and £40 for inconvenience caused to the resident.
6. After the resident escalated her complaint, the landlord sent its stage 2 response on 17 February 2025. It apologised for the distress caused to the resident. The landlord said it would inspect the damp and mould and the damage to the living room. It said a surveyor would contact the resident to arrange this. The landlord upheld the complaint and increased the compensation to £626.27. This comprised £446.27 for the loss of the room, £120 for the distress and impact due to vulnerabilities and £60 for complaint handling.
7. The resident referred her complaint to us on 27 May 2025. She said she wanted the landlord to fix the leaks, damp and mould and pay compensation.
8. On 19 June 2025 the resident issued a letter of claim under the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Condition Claims. The resident and landlord’s representatives have been engaging about the repairs thereafter. On 8 September 2025 the resident told us repairs remained outstanding. Works are currently scheduled to begin on, or around 27 October 2025.

Assessment and findings

Scope of assessment

9. We are aware there are historical issues with leaks, damp and mould at the property. We encourage residents to complain to their landlords in a timely manner. This is so the landlord can consider issues when they are still ‘live’, and evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on what happened. We do not consider complaints that were not made within a reasonable period. This is usually 12 months before a complaint is made to the landlord.
10. In June 2025 the resident sent the landlord a letter of claim. This assessment considers the period up to when the letter was issued. This is because the resident and the landlord entered settlement negotiations thereafter. This investigation therefore considers the period from November 2024 until 19 June 2025.

The landlord’s handling of a leak and the collapse of a ceiling

11. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. The landlord’s repair policy says it will provide safe, warm, and secure homes. It also says it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours and aim to complete routine repairs in 25 calendar days.
12. In March 2024 there was a leak into the resident’s flat from a neighbouring property. The landlord’s repair records say it could not access the neighbour’s property and needed to arrange an inspection. There is no evidence the landlord inspected the neighbouring property.
13. The resident said she reported a further leak in May 2024. She said this leak was from the roof. The landlord completed roof repairs in August 2024. It has not provided records of the works. Accurate and complete repair records are essential to allow a landlord to meet its repair obligations and demonstrate it has done so. The absence of these records is a record keeping failure.
14. On 18 November 2024 the resident reported water coming through the living room ceiling, which then collapsed. The landlord visited the same day and told the resident not to use the room. The job report says a surveyor “must attend tomorrow”. The landlord acted appropriately in carrying out emergency repairs, however, it did not visit the property the next day.
15. The resident complained on 19 November 2024 and said the ceiling collapse had exposed mould and she was worried about asbestos. The resident said her son was asthmatic. The landlord delivered a dehumidifier on 21 November 2024. There is no evidence it responded to the resident’s concerns about mould and asbestos. It did not arrange a damp and mould inspection.
16. The resident escalated her complaint on 4 December 2024 and said a surveyor should inspect the property. She said the landlord planned to do repairs on 12 December 2024, but it had not found the cause of the leak. The resident said there was black mould and the landlord needed to open a ‘mould case’. There is no evidence the landlord acted on the resident’s report of mould.
17. Landlord internal emails sent after it visited on 12 December 2024 said a surveyor was needed “immediately”. The emails said there was an ongoing leak, and it was a health and safety issue. The landlord did not arrange the inspection.
18. In its stage 2 response sent on 17 February 2025 the landlord acknowledged it failed to arrange an inspection. It said miscommunication had caused the delays. The landlord apologised and awarded £566.27 compensation. It said a surveyor would contact the resident to arrange a visit. The landlord did not provide a timeframe for the inspection or commit to completing the repairs.
19. At the time the landlord sent its response, the issues had been ongoing for 13 weeks. The landlord should have prioritised an inspection and committed to completing the repairs, however it failed to do so.

Events after the landlord sent its final complaint response

20. The landlord visited the property on 2 May 2025. This was over 10 weeks after it sent its stage 2 response. During this time the resident chased the landlord for updates and explained she was concerned about asbestos, damp and mould. She restated her concerns about the condition of the property on her son’s health, as he was asthmatic. The landlord failed to respond to the resident’s concerns.
21. Between 2 May and 16 May 2025, the landlord sent a series of internal emails trying to establish the nature of the repairs and which team was responsible. On 16 May 2025 it said it had been unable to access the neighbour’s flat and would close the job. The resident referred her complaint to us on 27 May 2025 as the repairs remained outstanding.
22. Where the landlord admits failings, we consider whether its offer of redress puts things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so, we consider whether the redress was in accordance with the dispute resolution principles of ‘be fair’, put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
23. The landlord acknowledged it failed to arrange an inspection and apologised for the distress caused to the resident. It said it would contact the resident to arrange a visit and awarded £566.27 compensation. However, the lack of a timeframe for the inspection suggests the landlord failed to appreciate the seriousness of the disrepair and its effect on the resident and her son.
24. The landlord did not inspect the property until 10 weeks after it sent its stage 2 response. It therefore took the landlord nearly 6 months to carry out an inspection. When the resident sent the letter of claim, in June 2025, she had been unable to use the living room for 7 months. During this period conditions in the property had deteriorated. The landlord had not carried out or scheduled any repairs, and it failed to consider if the resident and her son should be moved to temporary accommodation. These failings mean the circumstances for severe maladministration apply.
25. We have made an order for compensation, considering the circumstances of the complaint, the resident’s rent payments, and our remedies guidance. The property comprises five rooms. The resident was unable to use the living room after the ceiling collapsed. The landlord must therefore pay 20 percent of the rent for the duration of the assessment period (between 18 November 2024 and 19 June 2025). This is a period of 30 weeks (19 weeks x £137.69 rent and 11 weeks x £144.44 rent). The landlord must therefore pay £840.99 compensation for the loss of the living room. We have made a further order for £260 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident during this period.
26. We have made orders for the landlord to put things right, apologise to the resident and pay £1,100.99. The landlord can deduct from this amount the compensation paid at stage 2. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failure which had a significant impact on the resident.

The landlord’s complaint handling

27. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) says landlords must:
    1. Acknowledge stage 1 complaints within 5 working days and respond within 10 working days.
    2. Acknowledge stage 2 complaints and respond within 20 working days of escalation.
    3. Address all points of a complaint in the response.
28. The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 19 November 2024. The landlord sent an acknowledgement and stage 1 response on 4 December 2024. This was after the response time required by the Code.
29. On 4 December 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint. She said the landlord had not addressed the damage to the decoration caused by the previous leak. The resident asked to be reimbursed for the cost of running the dehumidifier and for the landlord to remove the debris from the ceiling collapse.
30. The landlord sent a stage 2 response on 17 February 2025. This was 31 working days after the response time required by the Code.
31. The landlord’s response did not address the issues about electricity costs, removal of debris or the decoration of the living room. This was contrary to the requirements of the Code.
32. We found maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. This is because it did not follow the Code and failed to address all issues the resident raised. We order the landlord to apologise to the resident and pay £250 compensation. This comprises £60 awarded at stage 2 and £190 for the failures identified above. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failing that adversely effected the resident.

Determination

33. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a leak and the collapse of a ceiling.
34. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

35. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise in writing for the failings identified in this report. This should be provided by a senior manager.
    2. Pay the resident £1,350.99, this comprises:
       1. £1,100.99 for the failings in the landlord’s handling of the leak and the ceiling collapse.
       2. £250 for the failings in the landlord’s complaint handling.

The landlord can deduct from this amount any compensation paid at stage 2. The compensation awarded by the Ombudsman must be paid to the resident and not to a rent or service charge account.

3. Provide written confirmation to the Ombudsman it has removed the debris from the ceiling collapse.

36. The landlord must write to the resident and the Ombudsman to confirm the schedule for the repair works.

Recommendations

37. The landlord should consider reimbursing the resident for the additional costs of heating the property.