Southern Housing (202342513)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202342513

Southern Housing

28 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

The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
1. Reports about damp and mould.
2. Reports about leaks from the upstairs flat.
3. Reports about noise nuisance from the upstairs neighbour.
4. Repairs to the property.
5. The associated complaint.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The property is a 2-storey house that has been converted into 2 flats and the resident lives in a 1-bedroom flat on the ground floor. The tenancy started on 20 January 2003. The resident reports that she has medical and other conditions.
The resident sent letters to the landlord on 12 February and 16 February 2024. She raised concerns about a further leak from the upstairs flat, ongoing damp and mould, and ongoing noise nuisance from upstairs. She raised concerns about the repairs needed to the property as well as repairs that she had to pay for herself. She was not happy with how the landlord was handling the multiple issues that she had been raising going back years and she felt the landlord did not maintain the property as it should. She said the issues negatively impacted her health conditions and the noise issues were significantly impacting her sleep. The resident wanted to move from the property because of the ongoing issues.
After this Service asked the landlord to respond, it acknowledged the complaint on 1 March 2024 and provided its stage 1 response on 2 April 2024. It said:
1. It was unable to make changes to soundproof the resident’s home.
2. It would talk to the neighbour about things they can do to reduce the noise, especially at night. It said it would visit and discuss flooring options with the resident and the neighbour to reduce noise transference.
3. It had asked the resident to do sound sheets, but she didn’t want to escalate things that far and just wanted the neighbour to be more considerate.
4. There had been several damp and mould visits. It found that the property had high moisture levels due to condensation, defective brickwork to the side elevation, and broken extractor fans. It said it raised jobs in April 2023 and would re-raise the outstanding repairs and respond to her about this within 20 working days.
5. The housing officer would contact the resident to discuss the mutual exchange process.
6. It apologised for the poor service the resident had received, the delays in repairs, and for the stress and inconvenience due to the noise transference from upstairs.
7. It offered £175 in compensation, made up of:
  1. £75 for its failure to follow its process and policy in regard to repairs.
  2. £100 in recognition of inconvenience and mental/physical stress caused by noise disturbance for an extended period of time.
On 2 April 2024, the resident requested her complaint be escalated to stage 2. She felt the £175 offered was not sufficient to recognise what had happened. She said that she had spent a lot of money on the property including for damage that she did not cause. She said she had replaced the flooring more than once, put in a new kitchen, put in a new bathroom, bought exterior doors, putting up fencing, replastering, and painting the outside of the property. She said she was worried about further leaks, the ongoing damp and mould, and the noise transference.
The landlord acknowledged the escalation to stage 2 on 12 April 2024 and provided its response on 13 May 2024. It said that there were not currently any leaks into her property, and it would arrange to complete the remedial works to the ceiling following the leak in February 2024. It increased the compensation to £275 by adding on £100 for complaint handling, and including the previous amounts offered of £75 for repair delays and £100 for the noise disturbance.
The resident was not happy with this response and asked this Service to investigate. She is concerned with the ongoing damp and mould, ongoing noise disturbance, and outstanding repairs.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident has been raising issues about damp and mould, leaks from the upstairs neighbour, noise transference, and repairs for several years. We would not normally investigate historical complaints. This is because we generally expect residents to make complaints within 12 months of an event as records may be missing and memories fade. While the Ombudsman has noted the longer history and background, this report will therefore focus on events from 2023 forward, which is approximately 12 months prior to the resident’s complaint. This means, for example, that we will not be considering the issue of the resident paying for door replacements approximately 5 years ago.
The resident has told us that the stress caused by leaks, noise transference, and damp and mould have impacted her health. While this Service is an alternative to court, we are unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. Nor can we calculate or award damages. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider the personal injury aspect of the resident’s complaint. These matters are better suited to consideration by a court. However, the Ombudsman may set out a remedy that recognises the overall distress and inconvenience caused to a complainant by a particular service failure by the landlord.

Reports about damp and mould

The landlord’s best practice action plan says it has a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould. It says that when damp and mould are reported, it will inspect within 5 to 10 days and aim to fully rectify the issue within 6 weeks. It will then make follow up contact at 3, 6, and 12 months to ensure the damp and mould have not returned.
The resident reports that there has been damp and mould in the property regularly since she moved in over 20 years ago. There was a damp course put in about 10 years ago which helped, but the problem came back.
On 11 April 2023, the resident told the landlord that she had ‘really bad’ damp and mould in the property. The landlord visited the property in May 2023 and identified signs of damp and mould and a need to fix the brickwork to the side elevation. It then raised a job for a damp and mould survey and quote. The home was inspected on 3 July 2023. The contractor found:
1. High damp readings in the property and condensation on the internal walls.
2. Black mould to the surface of the walls at a low level, indicating rising damp.
3. Poor ventilation, with no extractor fans in the kitchen, a broken extractor fan in the bathroom, and an ineffective ventilation unit above the entrance doorway in the hall.
4. That the type of plaster in the property was contributing to the damp and mould.
The contractor recommended a damp proof course, replastering the walls, and upgrading the ventilation to the property. The quote for this work was approved by the landlord in July 2023.
The contractor was scheduled to start the works on 8 January 2024. It is not clear why it was 6 months after the survey that the works were scheduled to start, and this timeframe is outside of its policy. The resident let the landlord know this date didn’t work and it said the contractor would get in touch to reschedule. In its stage 1 complaint response on 2 April 2024, the landlord said it would re-raise the repairs needed.
The appointment for the damp proof course and other work was not rescheduled and has not been completed, despite the survey occurring in July 2023. The landlord has come out to drill holes in the bedroom wall but has not followed through with the works needed to address the underlying issues causing the damp and mould. This delay of over two years is unreasonable.
During this period, the resident has continued to live with significant damp and mould throughout her property. This has impacted her comfort and enjoyment of the home, and she says she works as much as possible to avoid being at home. She reports coughing regularly when she is at the house which causes her to be worried about the impact to her health. The resident has also spent money on installing a fan in her kitchen and painting and decorating to try to deal with the damp and mould issue. She has provided photos showing damage to her curtains from black mould.
In consideration of the above, we have made a finding of severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould. This is because there have been a series of significant failures which have had a seriously detrimental impact to the resident. The landlord has repeatedly missed opportunities to address the damp and mould issue, and significant works are still required although these were agreed and the cost approved in July 2023
We note there are a number of different issues in the property, including the outstanding damp and mould works. We have commented on other repair issues later in this report. We have therefore ordered the landlord to review the information and inspections it already has and draw up one comprehensive schedule of works to address the outstanding repairs and works needed to the property.
In its complaint responses, the landlord offered £75 for the delays in carrying out the repairs identified in the survey. In our view, £75 was not adequate at the time it was offered to recognise the delay of 9 months at that point. Since the complaint response, the resident has continued to be impacted as the issue has not been fixed. We have made a compensation award to recognise the failures of the landlord and the impact to the resident of living with ongoing damp and mould for a lengthy period and to include her costs in trying to deal with it herself.
In light of this, an order has been made for the resident to receive compensation for the loss of full enjoyment of the property at a rate of 15% of the weekly rent payment. We consider this is fair to address the impact the landlord’s failure of addressing the damp and mould has had on the resident. This has been calculated from 9 May 2023 (28 days after the landlord was notified on 11 April 2023) until the date of this report. We have used an average of £124 a week, based on the resident’s rent over the 129-week period and 15% of this is approximately £2,400.
We will also order the landlord to confirm it will compensate the resident £84 per month (based on 15% of her rent) from 28 October 2025 until the works to address the damp and mould are fully completed.

Reports about leaks from the upstairs flat

The tenancy agreement says residents should not do anything in the property, which is likely to be, or might become a nuisance, annoyance, or inconvenience. Part of the resident’s complaint is about repeated leaks from the flat above her and that the landlord has not done enough to prevent these.
The repair history shows a leak in December 2022 because of a leak to the pipe going into the neighbour’s washing machine as it had not been plumbed in correctly. This was the third leak into the resident’s property from the upstairs neighbour. The notes say there was ‘no access’ and a card was left for the neighbour. There is no evidence to show the landlord followed up on the leak promptly after this which was not reasonable.
The resident reported that the leaking into her property continued and a job was raised to trace the leak behind the washing machine. The repair was fully completed in May 2023. The resident paid £599.10 to replace the carpet because of this leak. She told us that she did not claim this on her home contents insurance as she would have to pay the £250 excess and worried the payment amount would go up if she claimed.
A further leak happened in February 2024 and the resident reports this was the fifth leak into her property from the upstairs flat. This time the leak was because the neighbour flooded his bathroom. The carpet was damaged, and the resident paid £198 to have linoleum installed as she was concerned about further leaks. The evidence shows the landlord advised the resident to maintain and claim on her home contents insurance each time her property was damaged from a leak from the neighbour’s flat. This was reasonable advice for the landlord to give as the landlord is not responsible to pay for the damage that the neighbour’s behaviour caused.
After the February 2024 leak, the landlord said it would fix the ceiling that was damaged. The resident paid to have it fixed herself prior to the appointment the landlord offered. She states she has spent £300 in total on plastering from the damage from the leaks. The resident has provided evidence to suggest she submitted receipts to the landlord. We asked the landlord to send copies of these, but it states it does not have these.
There was a further leak in October 2024. This was after the formal complaint process was completed. The landlord says it was not aware of this leak and by this time the resident says she had ‘given up’ on asking to the landlord to do anything about the continuing leaks.
The landlord is not responsible for the behaviour of its residents, but in our view, it did not communicate clearly with the resident about whether it considered the leaks to be a pattern of behaviour that could be classed as anti-social behaviour (ASB). When the resident raised concerns about how many leaks there had been and that she considered it an ongoing issue, the landlord was silent on this concern. Because of this, the resident did not know what to expect from the landlord. There are things the landlord could have done to try to assist. For example, the landlord could have spoken to the neighbour about how the floods were impacting the resident, inspected the property to ensure things were plumbed in correctly, and considered whether the number of leaks could be a breach of tenancy.
There were delays in the landlord addressing the leak behind the neighbour’s washing machine. There was also poor communication from the landlord on its position on this issue and what, if anything it intended to do to assist. Because of this, we have found service failure.
The leaks from the neighbour have caused a significant impact to the resident. She has replaced her flooring twice since 2023, cleaned up the mess the leaks caused, and fixed the damage to the ceiling. The leaks have impacted the resident’s enjoyment of her home, and she worries the leaks will continue.
To recognise the delay in addressing one of the leaks and the poor communication from the landlord about this issue, we have ordered £300 in compensation. This recognises the amount the resident states she has paid in plastering costs because of leaks. Given the service failures identified and the landlord not keeping the receipts sent in by the resident, we find this amount reasonable and fair in these circumstances.

Reports about noise nuisance from the upstairs neighbour

The landlord’s Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) policy considers behaviour that is capable of causing nuisance of annoyance. The policy says it will manage some cases of noise disturbance through its Good Neighbourhood Management Procedure, if it is appropriate to do so. The policy says the landlord will suggest actions that may improve the situation such as the resident and their neighbour signing a good neighbour agreement, undertaking a home visit to help determine acceptable levels of noise between the properties, and exploring simple practical measure to reduce the impact of noise.
The resident reports that the noise from the neighbour has impacted her since he moved in about 11 years ago. In the formal complaint the resident raised in February 2024, she brought up the ongoing noise transference issue and said that she could hear his day-to-day activities including overnight, which was significantly impacting her sleep.
In its complaint response in April 2024, the landlord said it would talk to the neighbour about things they could do to reduce the noise, especially at night. It also said it would visit the resident and neighbour and discuss flooring options. These were reasonable and practical steps for the landlord to suggest.
The landlord attempted to visit the neighbour’s property 3 times but there was no access, so it left a card in May 2024. It appears it then left the issue until writing the neighbour a letter in December 2024. This over six-month gap in attempting to progress the issue was unreasonable.
There is a note dated 2 January 2025 that says the housing officer confirmed that ‘floor covering has been done’, but it’s not clear what this means. We asked the landlord to clarify this, but it was not able to provide further information. The landlord has not provided evidence that it has spoken to the neighbour as it said it would. The resident has confirmed there has been no improvement in the noise transference issue and it continues to impact her.
In our view, the landlord has not done enough to try to address the noise transference issue. It said it would visit both the neighbour and the resident, and its policy says it will consider things it can do to reduce the noise transference. The landlord has not visited the resident about the issue and has not been proactive in addressing the issue. its complaint response it said it cannot take steps to soundproof the property, but it has a responsibility to fully assess this issue and take reasonable steps to do what it can, which it has not done.
Based on the above, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the reports about noise nuisance from the upstairs neighbour. We have ordered it to visit the resident and the neighbour about the noise transference issue, create an agreed action plan, and timetable, and provide the resident and the Ombudsman with a copy of the agreed action plan.
The noise transference issue has had a significant impact on the resident. The noise at night impacts her sleep and the general noise impacts her peaceful enjoyment of her home. She has sought out counselling and medical care about the stress and impact to her sleep from this issue. She does not feel that the landlord has taken her concerns about the noise transference at the property seriously, which has understandably caused frustration.
In its complaint response in April 2024, the landlord offered £100 in recognition of the inconvenience and mental/physical stress caused by noise disturbance for an extended period of time.
Given the landlord has not followed through with what it said it would do and has not come up with a plan to attempt to address the noise transference, we do not find that £100 is sufficient to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. We have ordered it to provide £300 (including the £100 already offered) in compensation for its failure in reasonably addressing the noise transference issue.

Repairs to the property

The landlord’s repair policy said it is responsible to keep the structure of the home in a reasonable state of repair. This includes the outside walls and the windows. It says it will arrange an appointment for repairs for as soon as possible and at a time that suits the resident.
The resident raised outstanding repairs as part of her complaint. There are windows that do not open in the kitchen and bedroom. Part of an upstairs ledge fell down and there is more rendering that is crumbling on the outside of the property.
In its complaint response the landlord did not address the outstanding repairs or take action to complete them. This was a missed opportunity for the landlord to put things right.
It is not reasonable that the landlord has not made the repairs to the windows and to the outside walls of the property, despite the resident reporting these since at least early 2024. Given this, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the property.
We have ordered the landlord to review the information and inspections it already has and draw up one comprehensive schedule of works. This order includes the repairs to the windows and outside of the property.
This issue has caused the resident inconvenience and distress. She has not been able to open some of her windows while living with damp and mould. She reported that the rendering from the ledge feel close to where she was an almost hit her, which was scary. She has spent time trying to get the landlord to acknowledge and fix the issues, which has been frustrating.
To recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in the repairs, we have ordered the landlord to provide £200 in compensation specific to delays in repairing the windows that do not open and not responding to the concerns about the crumbling rendering on the outside of the property.

Complaint Handling

The landlord’s complaint policy says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and responds at stage 1 within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20 working days.
The landlord received a written complaint from the resident on 12 February 2024. It did not acknowledge this complaint until 1 March 2024 after this Service asked it to, which was not reasonable. It let the resident know it needed extra time to respond at stage 1 but would respond by 28 March 2024. It provided its stage 1 response a few days after this new deadline, on 2 April 2024. The resident asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 on 2 April 2024 and this was acknowledged on 12 April 2024, outside of the 5-day timeframe. It provided its stage 2 response within its timescales, on 13 May 2024.
The landlord offered £100 for its failures in complaints handling. It is positive that the landlord apologised and offered compensation but, in our view, it has not done enough to put things right.
When the landlord responded to the complaint, it did not address all of the issues raised, including some of the outstanding repairs. It did not take steps following its complaint responses to address the outstanding repairs and complaint issues, causing further delays to resolution.
Due to the above, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the complaint. We will order the landlord to pay the resident £200 in compensation (including the £100 already offered) for its complaint handling failures and the impact this had to the resident.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was severe maladministration by the landlord in its handling of reports about damp and mould.
In according with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of reports about leaks from the upstairs flat.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its:
1. Reports about noise nuisance from the upstairs neighbour.
2. Handling of repairs to the property.
3. Complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Within 4 weeks of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Review the information and inspections it has and draw up one comprehensive schedule of works to address the outstanding repairs to include, but not limited to:
  1. The works identified in the July 2023 damp and mould survey.
  2. The 3 windows that do not open.
  3. Repairs needed to the outside of the property to address the brickwork to the side elevation and the crumbling rendering.
  4. Whether suitable alternative accommodation is necessary and will be made available to the resident.
2. Provide a copy of the schedule of works to the resident and the Ombudsman.
3. Provide an apology from a senior manager for the failures identified in this report.
4. Pay the resident £3,400 in compensation (including the £275 already offered) for the distress and inconvenience caused by its failings. This amount includes:
  1. £2,400 for its handling of reports of damp and mould
  2. £300 for its handling of reports about leaks from the upstairs flat.
  3. £300 for its handling of reports about noise nuisance from the upstairs neighbour.
  4. £200 for its handling of repairs to the property.
  5. £200 for its complaint handling.
5. Confirm it will compensate the resident £84 per month from 28 October 2025 until the works to address the damp and mould are fully completed.
Within 6 weeks of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Visit the resident and the neighbour about the noise transference issue.
2. Create an agreed action plan and timetable to address the noise transference, taking into consideration the themes and findings in this report.
3. Provide the resident and the Ombudsman with a copy of the agreed action plan.