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Notting Hill Genesis (202426470)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202426470

Notting Hill Genesis

26 September 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 handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as an assured tenant since December 2018. The property is a 2-bedroom flat.
  2. The resident reported damp and mould in her home on 27 February 2023. She said her children’s bedroom was the worst affected, and they both had asthma. The landlord surveyed the property on 16 March 2023 and found mould in all rooms except the kitchen. It said it needed to do a mould wash, paint the walls, replace an extractor fan, and improve loft insulation.
  3. The resident reported damp and mould again on 31 January 2024. She said the landlord had fitted a fan and done a mould wash, but this had not solved the problem. She said the mould was a health risk to her family.
  4. On 28 May 2024 the resident complained about the damp and mould. She said she was not being listened to. She said she complained in January 2024 but did not receive a response. The resident chased the landlord for a response 4 times in June 2024. She complained again on 15 July 2024.
  5. In its complaint response on 30 August 2024 the landlord said the time taken to fix the damp and mould and its communication did not meet it standards. It said it would be more responsive and would do the outstanding work. It offered £250 compensation.
  6. Following an inspection, the landlord’s records on 10 September 2024 said there was a serious mould problem. It said the roof was letting in water and it was “causing serious health issues”.
  7. The resident’s MP contacted the landlord on 2 October 2024 and asked it when it would do the repairs. On 19 November 2024, the resident told the landlord she was waiting for it to do the work. She said mould had spread to her bed.
  8. The resident escalated her complaint on 7 January 2025. She said the landlord had cleaned the mould and painted, but this was not a fix. She said there was damage to walls, floors, ceilings, and her belongings. She said she spent time and money cleaning and replacing items and she felt anxious.
  9. In its final response on 12 February 2025 the landlord said it had not dealt with the damp and mould in line with its policies. It acknowledged the inconvenience and distress caused. It said it had booked appointments for 17 and 20 February 2025. It offered further compensation of £450, making the total offered £700.
  10. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman. She wanted the repairs completed and compensation for damaged belongings, stress, inconvenience, and damage to her family’s health.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. In her complaint, the resident said the mould damaged personal belongings and affected her family’s health. Although we can consider whether the landlord acted reasonably, in this case we cannot assess whether the landlord’s actions caused damage to belongings or health. These are legal aspects better suited to an insurance claim or court. While the Ombudsman is an alternative to the courts, in this case we are unable to prove legal liability or whether the landlord was responsible. However, we will consider how the landlord responded to the concerns.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould

  1. The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for keeping the structure of the property in good repair. This means the landlord has an obligation to do repairs to the building that are its responsibility. The landlord did not dispute that it had a responsibility for the repairs.
  2. The landlord’s damp and mould policy came into effect in June 2024. It says when a resident reports damp and mould, it will prioritise the report as urgent. It says it will contact the resident within 5 working days and visit within 10. It says during the visit it will assess the cause and share its findings with the resident.
  3. Following the visit, the landlord will do minor repairs within 20 working days but when it assesses that it needs a specialist, it will escalate it to a surveyor within 10 working days. When it finds severe mould, the landlord says it will remove the mould before the survey. Following the survey, the landlord will do a full report within 3 working days on the cause and work needed. The surveyor will discuss any major work with the resident, including timescales. If necessary, it will arrange to move the resident to temporary accommodation.
  4. Records provided by the landlord show the resident reported damp and mould on 27 February 2023. She said it affected the whole flat, but the children’s bedroom was the worst affected and they had asthma. She said the mould had spread to furniture, curtains, and clothes in the built in cupboards. She said she could smell damp as soon as she walked into her home.
  5. The Ombudsman has seen the landlord visited on 2 March 2023 and then raised a repair to treat mould on 6 March 2023. It also arranged a survey for 16 March 2023. This found mould in all rooms except the kitchen. It said it should treat the walls, update the kitchen fan, and improve loft insulation.
  6. The Ombudsman has found that this response was reasonable. This is because the landlord visited and arranged to treat the mould within 6 working days and arranged a survey within 14 working days.
  7. In its final response, the landlord said the resident reported damp and mould again on 25 April 2023. It said it referred this report to her housing officer for review and assessment on 26 April 2023, but it closed the case on 28 July 2023. It is unclear why the landlord closed this report without acting.
  8. The resident said she made a complaint about damp and mould on 24 January 2024. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence of this complaint. However, records show the landlord raised a repair on 31 January 2024 and the resident chased the landlord for a response on 29 February 2024. The resident’s housing officer contacted her on 1 March 2024 and said they would visit on 6 March 2024. The Ombudsman has not seen a record of this visit. On 20 March 2024 the resident’s GP wrote to the landlord and said the housing situation was having a negative effect on asthma and asked the landlord to provide support. The housing officer visited on 12 April 2024 and found mould in the bedrooms and living room. The landlord raised a repair on 8 May 2024.
  9. On 28 May 2024 the resident told the landlord that a contractor had been out that day and told her the flat was not insulated properly. She said the contractor said he would write a report. The landlord’s records say its contractor found a fault with downpipes. On 31 May 2024 the contractor told the landlord it could not complete the repairs.
  10. The Ombudsman has seen the visit on 28 May 2024 took place almost 3 months after the housing officer’s visit on 6 March 2024. Following this, the housing officer visited again on 12 April 2024 and saw mould in the living room and bedrooms and there were concerns raised by the resident’s GP. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the landlord did not respond to the reports of damp and mould in a reasonable way at this time.
  11. The resident chased the landlord for an update on 3 June 2024. The landlord passed the repair to another contractor on 10 June 2024. On 13 June 2024, the landlord told her it had raised a repair, but it could take up to 10 days. The resident chased the landlord again on 21 and 26 June 2024. She asked for a copy of the contractor’s report. The landlord made an appointment for 8 July 2024, but the resident cancelled this due to work commitments. The landlord rescheduled the appointment for 10 July 2024, but the contractor did not attend.
  12. The resident complained on 15 July 2024 about a lack of care and communication. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 17 July 2024 and did a survey on 28 August 2024. The survey found damp in the bathroom, bedrooms, and lounge. It found there was an issue with rainwater not draining from the roof and penetrating the brickwork. It recommended mould washes, an inspection of the roof, and upgrading the loft insulation.
  13. The Ombudsman has found it was reasonable for the landlord to do a survey. However, this took place 6 weeks after the resident’s most recent complaint. It also followed an earlier survey in March 2024, which also recommended work on loft insulation. The Ombudsman has seen that the landlord first found a problem with loft insulation in March 2023. It is unclear why the earlier survey did not find the cause of the damp and mould and why the landlord did not do work on the loft insulation sooner. The Ombudsman has found this was a significant failure by the landlord.
  14. In its complaint response on 30 August 2024 the landlord apologised and said the time taken to resolve the damp and mould had not met it standards. It said there was an action plan in place, and it would check on progress with the repairs. It offered £200 compensation for delays and distress caused.
  15. The Ombudsman has found it was reasonable for the landlord to apologise for and acknowledge its failures. It was also reasonable to put in place an action plan. However, the response did not say when it would do the repairs. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the compensation offered was insufficient for the significant delays, and distress and inconvenience caused.
  16. On 1 October 2024 the resident chased the landlord for an update. She said the landlord called her at the end of August 2024 to say it would survey the roof, but it had not done this. She referred to the health effects on her family and wanted to know when it would do the repairs. The resident’s MP contacted the landlord on 2 October 2024. He also wanted to know when the landlord would do the repairs. The landlord replied to the MP 6 weeks later, on 14 November 2024, and said it would do the work as “soon as possible”. The Ombudsman has seen no evidence the landlord responded to the resident.
  17. The resident chased the landlord again on 22 November 2024. The landlord responded the same day and said it had made an appointment for 23 November 2024 to fix the loft insulation. It said this should resolve the problem.
  18. The Ombudsman has noted that the landlord did not tell the resident when it would do work on the roof, which its survey said was the cause of the damp. It is the Ombudsman’s view that it would be reasonable for the resident to expect the landlord to fix the roof before doing work on the loft insulation.
  19. On 25 November 2024 the resident told the landlord that its contractors had insulated the loft, but this was not a solution. She said the walls in her bedroom were wet and there was mould throughout the flat. She said the landlord told her it would do roof repairs to stop the leaks and wanted to know when it would do this. The MP asked the landlord the same question on 25 November 2024.
  20. The resident escalated her complaint on 7 January 2025. She said she had not had a response since 25 November 2024 and despite earlier complaints, the landlord had not acted. She said there was damage to her home and belongings. She said she had spent time and money cleaning and replacing items. She said she had been complaining for 2 years, but the landlord had not fixed the problem. She said it was affecting her mental health, and she felt she could no longer cope. She said she felt anxious being in her home and was worried about her family’s health and damage to her belongings.
  21. The landlord’s records on 10 January 2025 said the bedroom ceiling was on the “verge of collapse” due to the leak. The landlord told the resident on 15 January 2025 that she would receive a final response by 12 February 2025. The resident contacted the landlord on 22 January 2025 and said she could not wait until 12 February 2025 for it to do repairs.
  22. The resident chased the landlord again on 23 January and 3 February 2025. On 29 January 2025, the MP asked the landlord when it would fix the damp and mould and whether the landlord would rehouse the resident until it fixed the problem. The resident’s GP wrote to the landlord on 12 February 2025 to express their concerns about the effect the housing situation was having.
  23. In its final response on 12 February 2025 the landlord said it had not resolved the damp and mould. It acknowledged the first report was on 27 February 2023 and the resident had regularly chased for updates. It said the reports had been poorly managed and it had not dealt with the damp and mould in line with its policies. It apologised for this and said it recognised the inconvenience and distress caused. It offered £500 compensation for failures in its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould, which included £200 previously offered, and £100 for poor communication.
  24. It said it had raised a repair on 4 February 2025 to clean the damp and mould in the living room, bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and hallway. It said this would take place on 17 February 2025. It said it had raised a separate repair for the roof on 20 January 2025 and was waiting for contractors to confirm an appointment. The Ombudsman has seen that the landlord did not provide the resident with details of how to make an insurance claim for damaged belongings. Despite the concerns raised about health, it did not consider moving the resident to temporary accommodation until it did the repairs.
  25. Following the final response the landlord arranged an inspection of the roof for 4 March 2025. This took place as planned and found slipped and cracked roof tiles. The landlord told the Ombudsman that it repaired the roof on 19 March 2025, and it completed other repairs by June 2025.
  26. Overall, the Ombudsman has found there were several serious failures by the landlord in the way it responded to the resident’s reports of damp and mould. It is the Ombudsman’s view that taken together, these amounted to severe maladministration. Although the landlord responded reasonably to the first report in February 2023, it did not do all the recommended work, and it took almost 2 years to improve the loft insulation. After the report in April 2023, the landlord arranged repairs but closed the job without completing them.
  27. Following the report in February 2024, the landlord did not follow its policy. There were visits by the landlord on 6 March, 12 April, and 28 May 2024 when the landlord saw mould in the home and found a possible cause. However, despite this and the resident contacting the landlord many times, the landlord did not do the repairs. After the resident made another complaint in July 2024, it took the landlord 6 weeks to arrange a survey.
  28. In its complaint response on 30 August 2024 the landlord said it had an action plan in place, and it would check progress with the repairs. It did not do this and in October 2024 the resident and her MP chased the landlord about the repairs several times. After the resident escalated her complaint on 7 January 2025, the landlord did not give her dates when it would do the work until it sent its final response on 12 February 2025. It did not do the roof repairs until 19 March 2025 and did not complete the other repairs until June 2025. The Ombudsman has found there was a lack of urgency by the landlord.
  29. Between February 2024 and June 2025, the resident was living with significant disrepair in her home, with the landlord acknowledging in January 2025 that a ceiling was on the verge of collapse. It also knew that mould affected most rooms. During this time the resident was anxious about the effect of the mould on her children, who had asthma. She was also distressed about damage to her personal belongings. The GP and MP contacted the landlord to express their concerns, but despite this the landlord did not meet its obligations to do repairs. It also did not consider whether to move the resident to temporary accommodation.
  30. The landlord apologised and said its response to the reports of damp and mould did not meet its standards, but the Ombudsman has seen no evidence of learning from the failures in this case. In its final response, the landlord offered £600 compensation. It is the Ombudsman’s view that this is insufficient in the circumstances as it does not reflect the loss of enjoyment of her home the resident experienced for a considerable period.
  31. Because of this, the landlord must also compensate the resident for loss of enjoyment of her home for the period when it did not resolve the damp and mould. The resident has not told the Ombudsman she was unable to use any specific room. However, records show there was damp and mould in the living room, bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and hallway. Because of this, compensation for loss of enjoyment is based on 20% of rent from 1 April 2024, which was 2 months after the report on 31 January 2024 until the landlord completed repairs in June 2025. The amount below is inclusive of the £600 already offered.
  32. Records provided by the landlord show weekly rent was £185.37 from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and £190.37 from 1 April to 30 June 2025. The landlord must pay compensation as follows:
    1. 52 weeks at 20% of £185.37 = £1,928.
    2. 13 weeks at 20% of £190.37 = £495.
    3. £1,000 for delays, distress, and inconvenience caused, inclusive of the £500 previously offered.
    4. £100 for poor communication, as previously offered.
    5. Total = £3,523.

 

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the landlord or those acting on its behalf. It says an expression of dissatisfaction does not need to include the word complaint.
  2. The policy says it will acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days and provide a response at stage 1 within 10 working days. It says when a resident escalates their complaint, it will send a final response within 20 working days. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
  3. The resident complained on 28 May 2024 about the landlord’s response to her reports of damp and mould. In her complaint she said she first complained in January 2024. The Ombudsman has not seen a complaint in January 2024. However, there is an email on 29 February 2024 where the resident clearly said she reported mould on 31 January 2024 and had no response. This was a clear expression of dissatisfaction, and it would have been reasonable for the resident to expect the landlord to deal with this as a complaint under its policy.
  4. The resident chased a response from the landlord 4 times in June 2024. The landlord did not raise a complaint, but on 13 June 2024, it told the resident it had raised a repair. This was a second failure to deal with the resident’s dissatisfaction as a complaint.
  5. On 15 July 2024 the resident made another complaint. The landlord acknowledged this on 17 July 2024. It sent its complaint response on 30 August 2024, which was 33 working days after the acknowledgement. It apologised for the late response and offered £50 compensation. This was another failure by the landlord to follow its complaints policy.
  6. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the failure to raise a complaint in February and June 2024 and the delay in responding after it finally acknowledged a complaint were significant failures. It is the Ombudsman’s view that this contributed to the delay in doing the repairs. In these circumstances, the £50 compensation was insufficient.
  7. The resident emailed the landlord on 1 October 2024 and said it told her at the end of August 2024 that it would arrange a survey. She said this had not happened. She said the situation was not acceptable and the landlord needed to act urgently. It is the Ombudsman’s view that it would have been reasonable for the landlord to consider this as an escalation request.
  8. Between October and December 2024, the resident sent several emails expressing her dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on repairs. Her MP also contacted the landlord and said the resident had made multiple attempts to resolve the issue. The landlord did not escalate the complaint during this time.
  9. The resident complained again on 7 January 2025, and the landlord acknowledged the escalation on 15 January 2025. It sent its final response on 12 February 2025. There was a delay in acknowledging the complaint and once acknowledged, the landlord sent its final response slightly outside its 20-day target. The landlord apologised for its complaint handling failures in its final response and offered £100 compensation, which included £50 already offered.
  10. Overall, the Ombudsman has found there was maladministration in the way the landlord dealt with the resident’s complaint. This is because the landlord did not acknowledge clear expressions of dissatisfaction made in February and June 2024 until 17 July 2024. The landlord then took 33 working days to send a response. When the resident and her MP contacted the landlord several times between October and December 2024 about a lack of action, the landlord did not escalate the complaint until 15 January 2025, and even then the acknowledgment and response were delayed.
  11. The landlord did not follow its complaint policy, and this caused distress and inconvenience to the resident as she had to chase a response while living with the effects of damp and mould. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the poor complaint handling contributed to the delay in fixing the damp and mould. Because of this the landlord must pay the resident £200 compensation for its complaint handling failures, inclusive of the £100 already offered.

Determination

  1. In line with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was:
    1. Severe maladministration by the landlord on its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
    2. Maladministration by the landlord on its complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. A senior director from the landlord must personally apologise to the resident for the failures found in this report, acknowledging its failures, and the way the resident was treated.
  2. The landlord must pay £3,723 compensation for its failures in its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and complaint handling. This is inclusive of £700 already offered. The landlord must pay compensation directly to the resident and not offset it against any arrears. This consists of:
    1. £2,423 for loss of enjoyment of her home.
    2. £1,000 for delays, distress, and inconvenience caused, including £500 previously offered.
    3. £100 for poor communication, as previously offered.
    4. £200 for complaint handling, including £100 previously offered.
  3. The landlord must review its actions in this case to identify why it did not progress the repairs following the report in January 2024. It must set out the failures and what actions it will take to reduce the risk of repeating these. It must set out how it plans to implement lessons learnt from the failures. It must write to the resident and this Service with a summary.
  4. The landlord must ensure it gives its Member Responsible for Complaints oversight of this report.
  5. The landlord must provide the resident with information on how to make an insurance claim.
  6. The landlord should provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report.