Read our damp and mould report focusing on Awaab's Law

Moat Homes Limited (202210756)

Back to Top

 

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202210756

Moat Homes Limited

29 July 2025

 

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. A leak at the resident’s property and the associated repairs.
    2. A pest issue.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident holds an assured non-shorthold tenancy with the landlord. The property is a ground floor bedsit.
  2. The resident said they reported a leak in their bathroom from the flat above in early April 2022. The landlord says the leak was reported in August 2022.
  3. The landlord fixed the leak in early September 2022 and cleaned the resident’s bathroom on 16 September 2022.
  4. A visit was booked for early November 2022 for the landlord to decide what work was needed following the leak. However, the landlord did not attend. Two more visits were booked in November 2022. One did not go ahead because the resident was not available. A later visit was cancelled after the resident told the landlord about a pest problem in their home.
  5. The landlord arranged for a pest control expert to visit the resident’s home, and in late November 2022 they found there was a bedbug infestation in the resident’s home. Following this, the landlord decided to pause work to the resident’s bathroom until the infestation had been resolved.
  6. The landlord arranged for a pest control expert to complete three treatments of the resident’s home. It completed two treatments in December 2022.
  7. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response on 4 January 2023. It said there had been a delay in fixing the leak and apologised for this. The landlord sent a follow-up email on 16 January 2023. It set out its understanding of when the leak was first reported and it gave the resident £150 compensation for not fixing the leak sooner.
  8. The landlord completed a final treatment for bedbugs in February 2023. And in March 2023 the landlord replaced the bath, tiles and boxed in the pipes in the resident’s bathroom.
  9. In April 2023 the landlord carried out decorating work. However, the colour it used did not match the existing paint. The resident complained about this and eventually completed the decorating themselves. The resident also filed a legal claim against the landlord for its handling of the leak.
  10. The landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response on 20 February 2024. It said it had completed pest control treatments, and the resident had not raised any more concerns about pests following this. The landlord said it had replaced the bath, and the resident had agreed to complete the decorating themselves. The landlord noted that the resident had brought a legal claim against it, which it would respond to separately. The landlord also said it had already given the resident £150 for failings in fixing the leak and it did not give any more compensation.
  11. The resident asked our Service to look into their complaint. They also brought their claim against the landlord to the county court. On 28 April 2025 the judge made an order to the resident and the landlord, setting out what actions both had to take before a final hearing would take place. At the time of writing this report, a final hearing has not taken place.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 41c of the Scheme says that the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion:
    1. Concern matters that are the subject of court proceedings or were the subject of court proceedings where judgment on the merits was given.
  2. The resident has issued a claim against the landlord about its handling of the leak and pest issues. At the time of writing this report the resident’s concerns are the subject of on-going court proceedings.
  3. The Ombudsman cannot consider complaints that are the subject of court proceedings. For this reason, this complaint is not one that the Ombudsman can consider and is outside of our jurisdiction to investigate in line with paragraph 41c of the Scheme.