Orbit Housing Association Limited (202504217)

Decision
Case ID	202504217
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Orbit Housing Association Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	31 October 2025

Background

The resident lives in a 2-bedroom bungalow with his wife. Both have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are disabled. He reported problems with damp and mould in their home, which he believed was caused by the condition of the windows and the roof. He felt the landlord did not respond promptly and that necessary repairs were left incomplete.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould.
We have also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

We have found that:
1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould.
2. There was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

Response to reports of damp and mould

The landlord did not carry out a damp and mould inspection soon enough, and recommended works were delayed. There were failure to deliver on committed promises. In this case, the landlord should have acted more promptly given the household’s vulnerabilities.

Complaint handling

The landlord repeatedly extended the deadlines for its formal responses without giving adequate reasons for the delays. Although it offered a reasonable amount of compensation at stage 1, it did not acknowledge the later delay at stage 2, nor did it provide a suitable remedy for the delay.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1,913. This is made up of: £500 in recognition of the frustration and inconvenience caused by the delayed action agreed in its final response. £75 in recognition of the complaint handling delay in its final response. The £1,338 previously offered in its responses to his complaint, if it has not already been paid. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 28 November 2025
2	Inspection order The landlord said it would carry out an inspection on 20 October 2025. The landlord must provide the survey report by the due date. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the roof, the damp proof course, windows and porch cladding. They must produce a written report with photographs The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards The most likely cause of the damp and mould Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue The likely timescales to commence and complete the work Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works	No later than 28 November 2025

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £1,913.

This is made up of:

£500 in recognition of the frustration and inconvenience caused by the delayed action agreed in its final response.
£75 in recognition of the complaint handling delay in its final response.
The £1,338 previously offered in its responses to his complaint, if it has not already been paid.

This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.

No later than

28 November 2025

Inspection order

The landlord said it would carry out an inspection on 20 October 2025. The landlord must provide the survey report by the due date.

If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date.

What the inspection must achieve

The landlord must ensure that the surveyor:

Inspects the roof, the damp proof course, windows and porch cladding. They must produce a written report with photographs

The survey report must set out:

Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards
The most likely cause of the damp and mould
Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible
A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue
The likely timescales to commence and complete the work
Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works

No later than

28 November 2025

Recommendation

Our recommendation is not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow it.

Our recommendation
The landlord should contact the resident to update the household’s profile to reflect the vulnerabilities and health conditions.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
16 February 2023	The resident complained to the landlord, saying there was black mould throughout the property and extractor fans were not working. He was concerned the situation would affect the household’s health. He wanted an inspection and the mould sorted.
14 August 2023	The landlord issued a stage 1 response, upholding the complaint. It acknowledged delays in completing works and had raised works for window vents and porch insulation. It apologised for the inconvenience and offered £338 compensation. Later in August 2023 the resident remained unhappy that some works were still outstanding.
1 November 2023	The landlord offered £300 for delays in its complaint handling.
19 January 2024	The landlord issued another stage 1 response. It apologised that repairs had not been completed, would follow this up and offered a further £280. The resident remained unhappy and the landlord escalated the complaint to stage 2.
23 April 2024	The landlord issued its final stage 2 response. It acknowledged the planned works were not undertaken as promised. It explained it carried out an inspection on 23 February 2024 and agreed a number of works. It offered £350 compensation for failing to deliver on promises. It also said it would provide weekly updates.
Referral to the Ombudsman	In the resident’s referral to us he said damp and mould persisted and some repairs were outstanding. He also said he struggled to afford additional heating. As a resolution, he wanted the landlord to complete outstanding repairs, replace all windows and provide further compensation.

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	Handling of reports of damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

After the February 2023 complaint, the landlord contacted the resident the next day and said it had raised an inspection. However, it failed to carry this out within its 20-working-day target, only inspecting on 27 June 2023. The landlord therefore acted contrary to its damp and mould policy, which requires prompt action and consideration of individual circumstances. Given the health concerns the resident had told the landlord about, this delay was unreasonable.
The evidence shows that the landlord took some action in 2023 and 2024 following the complaint – such as completing window vent works in August 2023 and carrying out mould treatment and partial roof cleaning in early 2024. However, these actions were sporadic and there were long periods of apparent inaction, during which the resident was not kept informed and experienced distress.
Notably, the landlord departed from its own policy by failing to risk assess the household for damp and mould, and delays in addressing issues like gutter clearing – first reported in September 2022 but not completed until August 2024 – were unreasonable and contributed to the persistence of the problems.
In its complaint responses the landlord acknowledged its poor handing of the repairs, apologised, offered compensation, and committed to completing the work and providing regular updates. The compensation of over £900 offered in recognition of the damp and mould was significant, which was appropriate given the length of time the repairs had been unresolved, their nature, and the household’s vulnerabilities.
However, repairs were not promptly completed after the April 2024 final complaint response. Internal correspondence from May 2025 acknowledged the lack of progress, and yet another inspection was scheduled for 20 October 2025. Nothing in the evidence provided by the landlord explains this subsequent delay to complete the necessary work. While the landlord offered reasonable remedies in its responses to the complaint, its failure to complete what it promised undermined this and left the complaint unresolved.
The landlord told us it had no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident. A recommendation has been made for it to update its records.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

The landlord did not issue its stage 1 response until 14 August 2023, over 120 working days after the resident’s complaint. This was far beyond the landlord’s 10-working day policy timescale.
Although the landlord extended the deadline, it did so only after the original timeframe had passed and continued to extend it twice more. This was contrary to the Complaint Handling Code, which says any extension must be no more than 10 working days without good reason and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident. These repeated delays were unreasonable and prevented the resident from receiving a timely response.
Later in August 2023, the resident expressed further dissatisfaction. However, the landlord did not escalate the complaint to stage 2, resulting in further delays. And it continued to extend deadlines. On 1 November 2023, it acknowledged these failings and offered £300 compensation for the inconvenience caused by its complaint handling.
After this, the landlord again extended it deadline on another 2 occasions. It then issued another stage 1 response on 19 January 2024, when it should have issued a stage 2 response. This second stage 1 response referenced the earlier response and acknowledged further failings, apologised, and offered an additional £50 compensation for its complaint handling.
The resident requested escalation on 19 January 2024, but the landlord extended the deadline 5 times and finally responded on 23 April 2024, over 60 working days later. This was outside its aim to do so in 20-working days and demonstrated a lack of learning from previous delays. It did not recognise the extended delays at stage 2 or offer a suitable remedy.
Overall the landlord’s complaint handling was drawn out and poor. It recognised, apologised, and provided compensation for some of its poor service, but not the significant delays in its final complaint response.