Southern Housing (202507149)

Decision
Case ID	202507149
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Southern Housing
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	27 February 2026

 

Background

1. The resident complained about damp and mould in his daughter’s bedroom, which he said was affecting her health. The landlord believed a leak from a neighbouring property was causing the damp and mould. The landlord is a managing agent working on behalf of the freeholder. It is responsible for internal repairs, whilst a separate organisation is responsible for communal and external repairs.

 

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Reports of damp and mould
   2. Complaint

 

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
   2. Reasonable redress in the landlords handling of the resident’s complaint.

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

 

Summary of reasons

Reports of damp and mould

4. The landlord offered reasonable redress for the delays in addressing the leak and damp and mould. However, it did not indicate it would continue to monitor damp and mould or respond to the resident’s further concerns on the matter.

Complaint handling

5. The landlord was delayed in providing its stage 1 response, but kept the resident updated and offered proportionate compensation.

 

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 £2,320.60 made up as follows: £300 to recognise the stress and inconvenience caused by its communication and handling of the resident’s further reports of damp and mould. £2,020.60 it offered to the resident in its stage 2 response of 17 July 2025.   This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 27 March 2026
2	Completing the works The landlord must take all steps to ensure the work is completed promptly and in any event by the due date. This must include the leak and any associated damp and mould. If the landlord cannot complete the works within this time, it must explain to us, by the due date: Why it cannot complete the works by the due date and provide evidence to support its reasons. It must provide a revised timescale of when it will finish the works; or Explain the steps it has taken to ensure the works were completed and provide supporting evidence. It must provide a revised timescale if it is able to or explain why it cannot.	No later than 24 April 2026
3	The landlord must confirm to the resident in writing how it will compensate for any additional repair delays from the date of its stage 2 response of 17 July 2025 until the repair is completed.	No later than 27 March 2026
4	The landlord is to complete a review of its handling of the damp and mould. This is to include the delay, its communication, and its oversight of monitoring the issue and responding to the resident’s further concerns on the matter.	No later than 10 April 2026

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
15 December 2024	The resident reported to the landlord there was black mould across most of his daughter’s bedroom. He said her respiratory health was worsening. He asked the landlord to resolve the issue urgently.
9 March 2025	The resident complained. He said the bedroom was still covered in mould and was uninhabitable. He said mould was spreading through the house. He said the landlord had inspected several times but had taken no effective action to resolve the problem or keep him informed.
16 June 2025	The landlord provided its stage 1 response. It confirmed on 25 March 2025 that it completed a mould wash and attached plastic sheeting to the walls to limit mould exposure. It stated it was trying to find the source of the leak which was causing damp and mould. It apologised for its communication and delay in rectifying the leak. It agreed to update him every 2 weeks on the matter. It offered compensation of £1,570.60 for the impact on the resident and his family.
28 June 2025	The resident escalated his complaint. He said the bedroom was unusable from November 2024. He did not believe the compensation offered was “sufficient”. He asked for compensation for the impact on his children’s health and clarity on how it calculated its award. He asked for a timeline when it would temporarily move him to repair the leak.
17 July 2025	The landlord provided its stage 2 response. It said it would continue to update him fortnightly about completing the repair. However, it could not arrange temporary accommodation until it knew further details about this. It detailed the breakdown of its compensation and suggested the resident raise a personal injury claim. It increased its compensation offer to £2,020.60 for the inconvenience caused by the ongoing leak.
6 November 2025	The landlord told us it had completed all remedial works at the property.
23 February 2026	The resident told us that on 17 February 2026 the landlord moved him and his family to temporary accommodation so that it can investigate and repair the leak. He stated that damp and mould was still present.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident told us he wanted further compensation for the impact on him and his family since November 2024. He said mould had spread upstairs. He wanted details of the repair works and that his property would be free from leaks and mould when the family returns.

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	Reports of damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

What we have not investigated

6. The resident told us about concerns with a repair to his toilet. This did not form part of the resident’s escalated complaint to the landlord on 28 June 2025. The resident also told us he had discovered mould growth upstairs in his property. However, this did not form part of his original complaint, and he reported this to the landlord on 6 August 2025. As such, we have not investigated these issues, and the resident can raise a further complaint with the landlord about them. If he remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s response after completing its 2-stage process, he can bring the matter to us.
7. The resident also told us that the damp and mould affected his children’s health. It would be fairer, more reasonable, and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

What we have investigated

8. In his initial complaint, the resident said there was severe damp and black mould in his daughter’s downstairs bedroom from November 2024. He said it had spread across all walls and was unsafe for habitation. He said other than inspecting the property the landlord had taken no steps to resolve the damp and mould or its root cause. He was not satisfied the compensation offered by the landlord was proportionate.
9. In its complaint response, the landlord confirmed the resident had reported damp and mould on 15 December 2024, and it inspected this the following day. It apologised that it was delayed in completing damp and mould treatment following this until 25 March 2024. It completed a mould wash and attached plastic sheeting to the walls to reduce the family’s exposure to mould. It stated that it should have done this sooner. This was accurate, as at the time of the complaint, its website stated it committed to inspect a property within 10 days of a first report and find a resolution within 6 weeks.
10. Following this action the landlord never indicated to the resident it would monitor or review the mould at the property. This would have been appropriate, given that, by its stage 2 response, the landlord believed the leak affecting the property was ongoing. Furthermore, the resident told the landlord on 28 June 2025, “nothing had been resolved”, and he was still unable to use the downstairs bedroom. There is no evidence the landlord further inspected the property or took any action to further manage the damp and mould at the property because of this. This was not in line with its commitment to treat the issue seriously.
11. The landlord offered compensation of £215 for the delays in managing the damp and mould. This was a reasonable amount in line with our remedies guidance for the inconvenience and distress this delay caused. It also appropriately directed the resident to its insurer to make a personal injury claim for the impact on the family’s health. This was in accordance with its compensation policy.
12. The landlord also offered £750.60 for the loss of the room affected by damp and mould. It explained how it had calculated this, which was in line with its compensation policy. However, it suggested this was for 200 days (16 December 2024 to 4 July 2025.) It did not explain why it used this end date and it is unclear why it did so. There is no evidence to suggest the issue was resolved at this point. The landlord did not explain whether it would pay further compensation from its reply date until the issue was resolved.
13. The repair to fix the root cause of the issue, which the landlord believed to be a leak from a neighbour’s wet room, was complex. The landlord explained this to the resident, managing his expectations. It explained that it needed to work with the organisation responsible for communal repairs, and due to the scale of the works, a loss adjuster was involved. It managed the resident’s expectations by explaining it would discuss moving into temporary accommodation when it was clear on the necessary repair. It promised to keep the resident updated every 2 weeks about the repair. There is no evidence that the landlord went on to communicate as agreed, and this was a failing.
14. The landlord recognised the repair to fix the leak had gone on for almost 8 months at the time of its stage response and apologised for this. It offered compensation of £1,005 for the inconvenience and distress caused by the delay in repairing the leak and for its communication on the matter. This was appropriate and in line with our remedies guidance for the inconvenience and distress caused over a prolonged period.
15. In summary, the landlord recognised it was delayed in completing damp and mould treatment and repairing the leak. It apologised for this and offered proportionate compensation. It did not monitor the damp and mould at the property and did not respond to the resident’s reports that the issue was ongoing. It did not explain whether it would consider further compensation to the resident, including the loss of the bedroom. It also did not update the resident as it agreed it would. As such, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the issue.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	Reasonable redress

16. The landlord’s complaint policy at the time of the complaint complies with the definition of a complaint in the Complaint Handling Code (the Code) (April 2024). The timescales in the landlord’s complaint procedure complied with the Code.
17. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint within 5 working days. It took 62 working days to provide its stage 1 response from its acknowledgement. It exceeded its timescale for response by 52 working days. However, it agreed extensions with the resident through this period, appropriately explaining the complexity of the issue. Nonetheless it offered £50 compensation for the delay. This was in accordance with its compensation policy for the inconvenience caused. It acknowledged and provided its stage 2 response within its policy timescales.
18. In summary, the landlord was delayed in providing its stage 1 response, but kept the resident updated about the delay. It offered proportionate compensation for the inconvenience the delay caused, which was in line with our remedies guidance. As such, we have found reasonable redress.

 

Learning

19. We’ve asked the landlord to complete a learning review. The landlord failed to monitor damp and mould and did not respond to the resident’s concerns that it was still present. The landlord needs to know why these failures occurred.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. The landlord maintained appropriate records that supported our investigation into the complaint, which helped us understand events that had taken place.

Communication

21. The landlord failed to keep the resident updated on the progress of the repair and the delays. This has continued following the end of the complaints process.