Southwark Council (202428780)

Decision
Case ID	202428780
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Southwark Council
Landlord type	Local Authority
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	17 October 2025

Background

The resident lives in a 2-bedroom semi-detached house with her husband and daughter. They moved into the property in September 2023 and shortly after she reported problems with the windows. These were repaired but the resident continued to report issues with damp, cold and lack of ventilation in the bathroom. The resident told us she has a heart condition with means she cannot leave windows open all year.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold and ventilation.
We have also considered the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found that:
1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold, and ventilation.
2. The was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

In summary, the Ombudsman found that the landlord:
1. Unreasonably delayed responding to the issues raised by the resident
2. Failed to clearly set out its position in relation to the reports of damp, cold, and lack of ventilation in the bathroom
3. Failed to consider all the complaint points at stage 1 of its process

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	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is provided by a senior member of staff. The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 14 November 2025
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £620 made up as follows: £170 offered during its complaints procedure £400 for any distress and inconvenience caused as a result of its handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold temperature, and ventilation £50 for the additional time and trouble likely incurred by the resident as a result of its handling of the complaint 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 14 November 2025
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. 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 ventilation in the property, including the bathroom Considers the resident’s reports of excess cold and damp Produces 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 any hazard it identifies 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 (if the landlord is responsible) 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 14 November 2025
4	Completing the works The landlord must take all steps to ensure any work identified as necessary during the inspection is completed promptly and in any event by the due date. If the landlord cannot complete the works in 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. Whether suitable alternative accommodation is necessary and will be made available to the resident until the work is completed.	No later than 12 December 2025

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Apology order

The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:

The apology is provided by a senior member of staff.
The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic.
It has due regard to our apologies guidance.

No later than

14 November 2025

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £620 made up as follows:

£170 offered during its complaints procedure
£400 for any distress and inconvenience caused as a result of its handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold temperature, and ventilation
£50 for the additional time and trouble likely incurred by the resident as a result of its handling of the complaint

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

14 November 2025

Inspection order

The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed.

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 ventilation in the property, including the bathroom
Considers the resident’s reports of excess cold and damp
Produces 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 any hazard it identifies
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 (if the landlord is responsible)
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

14 November 2025

Completing the works

The landlord must take all steps to ensure any work identified as necessary during the inspection is completed promptly and in any event by the due date.

If the landlord cannot complete the works in 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.
Whether suitable alternative accommodation is necessary and will be made available to the resident until the work is completed.

No later than

12 December 2025

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
28 November 2023	The resident complained to the landlord. She said her daughter’s bedroom was very cold and retained a lot of moisture.
1 December 2023	The resident emailed the landlord and asked for her complaint to be extended to the bathroom. She said: the bathroom had no means of ventilation as the windows did not open and there was no extractor fan she had already spoken to the landlord’s damp and mould team regarding this but was yet to hear back about next steps the property was cold, particularly her daughter’s bedroom and she believed this was to do with the windows
1 December 2023	The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It did not uphold the complaint and said the windows had been repaired in line with its policy. It confirmed the bathroom did not form part of the complaint, but it would forward the resident’s concerns to its damp and mould team. The landlord also arranged a post repair inspection for the windows and clarified it would only consider renewing them if they were unrepairable.
26 December 2023	The resident asked to escalate her complaint. She said the window in the bathroom did not open and the house was very cold. She said she was particularly concerned about damp and cold in her daughter’s bedroom.
10 April 2024	The landlord issued its stage 2 response to the complaint. Its definition of the complaint included the resident’s concerns about ventilation in the bathroom, damp, and cold. The landlord partially upheld the resident’s concerns and said: It repaired the windows in line with its policy and it was satisfied this was completed to a good standard It should have installed an extraction fan in the kitchen when the request was initially raised in November 2023 It was clear that the situation could potentially be resolved by implementing an efficient ventilation system It was sorry for the delay in responding to the resident’s complaint As a resolution, the landlord arranged an appointment with its damp and mould team on 16 April 2024. It said this was aimed to further evaluate the ventilation issue in the bathroom and the conditions in the resident’s daughter’s bedroom. It also said it would determine the most suitable option for installing the kitchen fan. The landlord offered the resident £170 compensation made up of: £120 for the delay in installing the kitchen fan (£5 per week from 30 November 2023 to 16 May 2024) £50 for the delay at stage 2
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident referred her complaint to us as she was unhappy the issues she raised remained unresolved. She confirmed the landlord inspected her home and acknowledged there was insufficient ventilation and damp but offered no solutions.

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	The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold and ventilation
Finding	Maladministration

In her complaint to the landlord, the resident said her daughter who sleeps in the bedroom affected by the issues raised has been very sick since they moved into the property. 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.
The landlord was responsible for making sure the property was fit for human habitation under s.9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The existence of any hazard as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) was a relevant factor to assessing fitness for human habitation. Related repair or other remedial action was required within a reasonable period. Excess cold as well as damp and mould growth are potential hazards under the HHSRS.
The resident told the landlord she thought issues in her daughter’s bedroom would be resolved once the window was repaired. The landlord repaired the window on 29 November 2023. Following this, the resident continued to report the same issues.
The landlord carried out an inspection on 8 December 2023 and confirmed the repairs were completed to a good standard. It told the resident it would only renew the windows if they could not be repaired. It was reasonable that the landlord clarified its position. However, there is no evidence it explored the resident’s concerns about cold and damp any further. This would have been appropriate to identify or rule out any other potential causes.
On 1 December 2023 the landlord said it referred the resident’s concerns about lack of ventilation in the bathroom to its damp and mould team to investigate. It did not set out any timescales as to when the resident could expect to hear back which would have been reasonable to manage her expectations. The landlord did not have a damp and mould policy at the time. However, its repairs guide confirmed it treated damp as a non-urgent repair and it would inspect to assess the most appropriate course of action within 20 working days. The landlord inspected the property on 9 January 2024. This was 4 working days outside of the timescales set out by its repairs guide.
Following the inspection, the landlord noted its course of action was to instruct a surveyor to review possible ventilation options, including whether the skylight windows could be opened. There is no evidence of any follow up from the landlord until it arranged a further inspection with its damp and mould team to take place on 16 April 2024.
The landlord unreasonably delayed taking further action following its visit in January 2024. It also failed to update the resident during this time, despite several emails she sent regarding theventilation and damp. The landlord’s internal emails show it was aware of the impact on the resident and her family as it noted the damp readings in the resident’s daughter’s bedroom were consistently above the recommended level. The landlord acknowledged this posed a risk of mould growth.
The resident confirmed the landlord inspected the property as planned. However, the landlord has not provided us with any records from the inspection. This means we do not know what the landlord assessed, what it found or what it planned to do next. We also do not know whether the inspection was carried out by a surveyor. The landlord had previously suggested a surveyor’s input would be required to decide the next steps.
The resident told us the landlord acknowledged there was a problem with condensation in the bathroom but that installing a means of ventilation was tricky. This is supported by a work order raised by the landlord on 24 April 2024 which said there was nowhere for a fan to be installed and it would see if anything could be done to open the skylight windows.This was the exact same position the landlord noted in January 2024 which raises concerns as to the effectiveness of its approach.
At the beginning of November 2023 the landlord raised a work order to install a kitchen fan. However, it said the resident preferred a different type of fan to the one it recommended so installation did not go ahead. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have confirmed with the resident the options it was able to offer.
As part of its stage 2 response, the landlord acknowledged it failed to follow up on the kitchen fan installation for 24 weeks and offered compensation in line with its policy for delay in delivering a service which did not have a significant impact on the resident. It calculated the compensation up to 16 May 2024 with a view to completing the installation by this date. However, the landlord has not supplied any evidence to show that it installed the fan. This means that although it offered proportionate compensation at the time of the stage 2 response, it has not put things right.
As a result of the additional failings identified in this report, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about damp, cold and ventilation. We have not been provided with any details of the previous inspections and the resident has confirmed the issues remain unresolved as no solutions could be agreed. We have therefore ordered the landlord to carry out another inspection by a suitably qualified surveyor to confirm its position regarding the issues raised. We have also ordered the landlord to complete any works its specialists deem necessary to remove any hazards identified during this inspection (providing it is responsible).
We have also ordered the landlord to pay the resident £400 compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused as a result of the additional failings identified in this report. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance for situations where there were failures which adversely affected the resident.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

The landlord operates a 2 stage complaints process. Its complaints policy saysit will respond within 15 working days at stage 1 and 25 working days at the final review stage.
The resident originally complained about cold and damp in her daughter’s bedroom. A couple of days later but before the landlord issued its stage 1 response she asked for her complaint to be extended to the bathroom. She said she had already spoken to the landlord’s damp and mould team regarding this.
The landlord’s complaints policy says it considers any expression of dissatisfaction about any of its services requiring a response as a complaint. Our Complaints Handling Code published in March 2022 (our Code) confirmed that where residents raise additional points during the investigation, landlords should incorporate these into the stage 1 response if they are relevant and it has not yet been issued. This is unless it would unreasonably delay its response in which case a new complaint should be logged.
The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on time, however this did not include the resident’s concerns about the bathroom. We have not seen any evidence it issued a separate stage 1 response dealing with these issues. Since the resident confirmed she had already raised this as a service request and was dissatisfied with the service received, the landlord should have treated this as a complaint and incorporated the issue into its response or raised a new complaint.
The landlord’s stage 2 response was issued 10 weeks outside of the timescales set out by its policy. The resident sent several emails chasing a response. The landlord apologised for the delay and offered the resident £50 compensation for the time and trouble this caused. This may have been reasonable had it responded to all the concerns at stage 1. However, its failure to do so meant the resident had to wait even longer for a response to some of her concerns and she did not get an opportunity to escalate them with the landlord.
As a result, we have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint. We have ordered it to pay an additional £50 compensation in recognition of the time and trouble its failings likely caused the resident. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance for situations where there was a minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided and it did not appropriately acknowledge these and fully put them right.

Learning

The landlord confirmed that at the time of this complaint it did not have a damp and mould policy, but it was working on creating one. The landlord also shared with us its self-assessment against our Spotlight report in which it identified several shortcomings in its approach to damp and mould which included lack of a set approach, issues with record keeping and poor internal communication. These issues are consistent with the themes identified in our investigation into this complaint. Having a damp and mould policy in place and a set process for dealing with new reports should help to resolve this.

The landlord’s previous complaints policy did not make reference to how it would deal with any additional issues raised during its complaints process. However, we can see it has since updated its policy to reflect the provisions in our Code.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

Had the landlord kept an appropriate record of its findings and shared these with us, an inspection order may not have been necessary.

Communication

There were several emails from the resident which were not responded to by the landlord. These related to both the complaint and her ongoing service request. The landlord should ensure any incoming communication is shared with all the relevant teams as early as possible to help prevent multiple delays.