Southern Housing (202342145)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202342145

Southern Housing

30 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 water ingress and damp and mould in the property.
  2. We have also considered the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord, a housing association, which started in March 2021. The property is described as a 2-bedroom first floor flat. The resident occupies the property with her partner and children.
  2. The resident reported black mould and wet patches on her walls by the balcony door on 25 January 2023. On 4 April 2023 the landlord noted a post inspection was needed to inspect any internal damage following a leak. It subsequently arranged the inspection for 16 May 2023 and notified the resident. It was unable to access the property for the inspection and left a no access card. It rescheduled the visit and completed the inspection on 15 June 2023.
  3. The resident chased the landlord for updates in June and July 2023 regarding water ingress, water damage to her dining room wall, damp, and mould. A surveyor attended on 8 August 2023 and completed an inspection.
  4. The resident complained on 11 July and 10 August 2023 about:
    1. The delay in completing repairs and the landlord’s poor communication.
    2. The impact on her and her children health and that she was being ignored by the landlord.
  5. The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on 24 August 2023. It acknowledged it should have kept the resident informed and apologised for any inconvenience caused. The landlord further said it was waiting for a quote to repoint the whole right hand side gable end of the wall. It assured the resident it was investigating the cause of the damp and water ingress and was aiming to provide further updates by 22 September 2023. It awarded the resident £175 later revised to £200 for the distress and inconvenience due to the failures identified.
  6. The resident raised a stage 2 complaint on 13 November 2023. She said the repairs had been outstanding since February 2023 and the landlord was not providing updates. The landlord responded to the stage 2 complaint on 12 December 2023 and apologised for the delay in completing the works. It provided a revised date of 18 and 25 December 2023 to complete repointing and remedial works following the leak. The landlord offered the resident an additional £30 for failing to commit to actions agreed.

Post complaint actions

  1. The resident contacted the landlord on various dates from January to March 2024 and expressed frustration and upset with its handling of the repairs. She said the unresolved damp and mould in the property was adversely impacting her family.
  2. The resident referred the complaint to us in April 2024. She said there was damp and mould throughout the property and it was not habitable.
  3. The landlord awarded an additional £30 on 13 March 2024 and £180 on 10 July 2024 following additional concerns about the delays (totalling £210). The landlord conducted a damp and mould survey on 25 July 2024 and found mould in the bedrooms. It carried out mould treatments in September 2024.
  4. The resident advised us on 25 September 2025 that the damp and mould issues had now been fully resolved.

Assessment and findings

The resident’s reports of water ingress and damp and mould in the property

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy (effective December 2022) states it aims to complete all non-emergency repairs in one visit and take as little time as possible. It set no timescales for completing routine repairs but noted they would be completed as quickly as possible. It would measure the amount of time it takes from the day it received the report through to its completion date, even if it involves more than one trade.
  2. The landlord’s compensation policy states it will take action to put things right as quickly as possible when it fails to provide a good service. When calculating an award of compensation, it will consider the extent, severity, and impact of the failure.
  3. The landlord did not dispute the resident’s complaint about the level of service she had received. It said there was an initial delay in attending the repair she reported in January 2023. The landlord acknowledged the resident had to make contact repeatedly before its contractor attended on 28 March 2023 (after 46 working days) to carry out works. While the landlord’s policy did not set out specific timescales for completing repairs, it acknowledged it had failed to manage the resident’s expectations.
  4. There was a delay in raising follow-on-works to assess the damage caused by water ingress and a post-inspection by the landlord. This was partially delayed because the landlord was unable to access the property on 16 May 2025. We have deduced from the landlord’s responses that it carried out a visit on 15 June 2023. However, we have not seen a report of its findings from the inspection, its update to the resident or any works recommended following the visit. This highlights a concern about the landlord’s record keeping and was a missed opportunity to put things right at an early stage.
  5. Following the landlord’s inspection in June 2023 the resident expressed frustration at the lack of update on damp and mould works during a telephone call on 11 July 2023. She said she continued to experience water ingress and a smell due to damp in the property. This indicates the resident had raised further concerns about damp, although earlier reports were not recorded in the repairs log.
  6. We have not seen evidence that the landlord considered the resident’s concerns about the impact of the damp and mould on hers and her children’s health. We acknowledge its explanation that it could not complete remedial works to the internal areas of the property until the cause of water ingress had been found. However, it would have been appropriate to assess any risks to the resident, due to the continued delays and to implement any mitigating measures where needed. The landlord has not demonstrated it did so.
  7. In its complaint response on 12 December 2023, the landlord acknowledged that the repairs were unresolved at the time. It apologised for its poor communication and the inconvenience to the resident. The landlord also acknowledged it had failed to make good on its assurances to update the resident on the status of the repairs. It was also appropriate that it agreed to change the resident’s carpet which she said was damaged by water ingress. It assured the resident that it was aiming to complete repointing works and internal repairs before 25 December 2023. The landlord said the works would be monitored by a dedicated staff member. These were positive steps in trying to restore trust and rebuild its relationship with the resident.
  8. Despite the landlord’s assurances, it missed another opportunity to put things right for the resident in a timely manner. We have not seen evidence that a dedicated staff monitored the progress of works and kept the resident informed as it committed to do. The landlord’s repairs log does not clearly set out the dates it completed the repairs. It advised us it completed the following works in:
    1. March 2024 – External works to the cladding and new waterproof membrane installed. Additional works to re-plaster and redecorate all affected areas along with carpet replacement.
    2. May 2024 – Additional works to re-point areas of the external wall and rectify issues with the concrete lintel above the window.
    3. September 2024 – Wash down of areas affected by damp and mould.
  9. Based on the evidence seen, the resident incurred time and trouble in chasing the landlord for updates from January to July 2024. During this extended period, she expressed distress and frustration (including via a further complaint) at the uncertainty regarding the repairs to resolve damp and mould.
  10. We have found maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of water ingress, damp, and mould. The landlord took an unreasonable length of time (approximately 18 months) to complete the repairs. This took multiple visits, as opposed to its policy commitment to complete non-emergency repairs in one visit or in as little time as possible.
  11. We acknowledge the landlord awarded the resident a total of £230 for the distress and inconvenience caused. Taking the circumstances of the case into account, the landlord’s offer was not proportionate to the time and trouble incurred by the resident nor the distress, frustration, and inconvenience caused.
  12. To address this, we have awarded £500 compensation to cover the period of February 2023 to July 2024 for the distress and inconvenience to the resident. This is in addition to the landlord’s offer of £230. This is in line with our remedies guidance for maladministration, where the landlord has acknowledged failings and made attempts to put things right but failed to address the detriment to the resident.
  13. The landlord shared some learning in its complaint investigation. It said it was looking into its processes to ensure actions are completed in a timely manner. It further said it was recruiting more staff to avoid further service failures.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints

  1. According to the landlord’s complaints policy it will try to resolve service requests such as a missed appointment immediately, with an apology and by providing another appointment. The landlord will log the issue as a formal complaint if it needs to make further enquiries to resolve the matter or if the resident requests it.
  2. The landlord has a two-stage complaint handling process. It will log and acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and respond to:
    1. Stage one complaints within 10 working days.
    2. Stage two complaints within 20 working days.
  3. Following the resident’s stage 1 complaint on 11 July 2023 the landlord acknowledged the complaint on 31 July 2023 (after 14 working days). This was a failing by the landlord. It assured the resident it would try to resolve the matter as a service complaint and respond by 4 August 2023 but it failed to do so in accordance with its complaints policy.
  4. The resident incurred time and trouble in chasing a response. The landlord subsequently logged the stage 1 complaint on 10 August 2023 and provided a formal response on 24 August 2023. This was 31 working days after the resident raised the complaint, far outside the 10 working days stated in its complaints policy. The landlord did not acknowledge the delays or apologise.
  5. The resident raised the stage 2 complaint on 13 November 2023. The landlord acknowledged the complaint within 6 working days, 1 day outside the published timescales. However, it responded to the complaint on 12 December 2023 (within 15 working days) which shows some learning from the previous delays.
  6. However, the landlord failed to follow up actions agreed at both stages of the complaints process and did not acknowledge delays in its stage 1 response. It failed to use its complaints process to resolve the resident’s concerns at the earliest opportunity. The resident had to raise another complaint to follow up the unresolved issues. This caused her further distress and inconvenience.
  7. We have found maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints. We have ordered it to pay the resident £150 compensation to address this.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of water ingress and damp and mould in the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident a total £880 (including its award of £230) broken down into:
      1. £730 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the repairs.
      2. £150 for the time and trouble incurred due to its handling of the associated complaints.
    3. Pay the compensation directly to the resident. The landlord may deduct from the total any compensation that it has already been paid in relation to the complaint. This includes compensation offered after the complaints process.
    4. Provide evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks.
  2. Within 12 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Review its record keeping in the handling of the repairs in this case and identify any learning to improve future cases.
    2. The landlord must provide this service with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 12 weeks of the date of this determination.