Southwark Council (202501001)

Decision
Case ID	202501001
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Southwark Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Leaseholder
Date	28 November 2025

Background

1. The resident is a leaseholder of the property. The property is a ground floor 2-bedroom flat. She rents it out to tenants who had a new-born baby during the complaint period. For simplicity, we will refer to the leaseholder as the resident in this report.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Reports of a leak.
   2. Requests for repairs to the internal damage.
   3. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in how the landlord handled the resident’s:
   1. Reports of a leak.
   2. Requests for repairs to the internal damage.
4. There was reasonable redress in how the landlord handled:
   1. The associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Reports of a leak.

5. The landlord took over 11 weeks to repair the leak. There were unexplained delays at each stage of the repair process. There was also poor communication by not providing any updates about the access issue or repair works.

Requests for repairs to the internal damage.

6. The landlord’s interference with the resident’s use and enjoyment of her property continued up until it fixed the leak. It failed to mitigate the effects of the leak inside the property.

The associated complaint.

7. The landlord delayed acknowledging the resident’s complaint. It also delayed issuing its stage 1 complaint response. However, it recognised its failings and offered the resident adequate resolution.

 

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 specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 07 January 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £900 made up as follows: £200 for the time, trouble and inconvenience caused by its failure to complete timely repairs of the leak. £700 for the time, trouble and inconvenience caused by its handling of requests to repair the internal damage. 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 07 January 2026

 

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations

Compensation recommendation We recommend the landlord pays the resident the compensation it had previously offered totalling £50. This is in recognition of the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused by its failures to appropriately handle the associated complaint (if it has not done so already). The finding of reasonable redress has been based on the landlord making this payment to the resident.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
10 February 2025	The resident reported a leak to the landlord. She said it affected the bathroom ceiling and walls.
5 March 2025	The resident raised a complaint to the landlord. She said the leak was still ongoing. A contractor had removed the bathroom light to make it safe. Another contractor had cut a large hole in the wall. She told the landlord she wanted it to replace the light and wall as it found them.
15 May 2025	The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It apologised for the delay responding and offered £50 for that. It detailed the repair history and confirmed it resolved the leak on 30 April 2025. It apologised for the time taken to repair the leak. It offered £70 compensation for the distress and frustration caused. It said repairs to internal walls and light fittings were the leaseholder’s responsibility. It provided details to make an insurance claim for damages.
5 June 2025	The resident asked to escalate her complaint. She said there was extensive damage and damp and mould due to the leak. The landlord had disconnected the electricity in the bathroom for 3 months. It had also removed a large part of wall in the bathroom. She said she had to pay a £500 excess fee to insurance for repairs. She asked the landlord to reimburse her.
4 July 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It said it had initially raised a job to reinstate the wall and light fitting. However, it cancelled the job after confirming the resident was a leaseholder. It said it was her responsibility to reinstate them. It said its compensation policy did not cover third-party charges incurred by leaseholders. It apologised for any unclear and inconsistent information. It maintained the same conclusion and compensation offered at stage 1.
Referral to the Ombudsman	When the resident brought her complaint to us, she wanted the landlord to cover the insurance excess fee.

 

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 a leak.
Finding	Maladministration

8. Under clause 4(2) of the lease agreement, the landlord is responsible for keeping in good repair the structure and exterior of the flat and the building. This includes drains, gutters and pipes. The leaseholder is responsible for keeping the interior of the property in good and substantial repair.
9. The landlord’s repairs policy sets out timeframes for repairs. The most appropriate category for the repairs reported is non-urgent. This includes minor leaks when not causing serious damage or a safety risk. The landlord should complete these repairs within 20 working days.
10. The resident reported the leak on 10 February 2025. The landlord attended the property and the flat above on 14 February 2025. However, it could not find a leak. There is no evidence the landlord took any further steps to investigate the issue. This was a failure.
11. The resident reported the leak again on 28 February 2025. The landlord attended the property on 3 March 2025. It identified a communal down service pipe was leaking badly. It said it needed to arrange a complete block shutdown to repair the leak.
12. The landlord sent a request to arrange the block shutdown for the cold water service on 13 March 2025. It is unclear why it delayed 10 days to make that request. It requested the block shutdown to happen on 31 March 2025. It stated it needed to give all residents advance notice of the shutdown.
13. The landlord wrote to all residents on 18 March 2025. It confirmed it would switch off the secondary water service on 31 March 2025. It would last 4 hours from 9am and affect toilets, baths/showers and wash hand basins.
14. The resident reported the leak had worsened on 23 and 28 March 2025. There is no evidence the landlord responded to these reports. It then attended on 31 March 2025. However, it could not gain access to the property above and could not repair the leak. It is unclear what actions it took following this.
15. The resident reported the leak had worsened again on 2 and 10 April 2025. There is no evidence the landlord responded to these reports. On 15 April 2025, it recorded the property above could provide access on 30 April 2025. At this stage the landlord had exceeded its 20 working days repair timescale by 26 working days with no progress in completing repairs. It did not provide updates to the resident to manage her expectation of when it would complete the repairs.
16. The landlord wrote to all residents again on 17 April 2025. It confirmed it would switch off the secondary water service on 30 April 2025. It would last 4 hours from 9am and affect toilets, baths/showers and wash hand basins.
17. The landlord attended the flat above on 30 April 2025 and completed repairs to the leaking pipes. This was a total of 55 working days after the resident reported the leak and was a failure.
18. In summary, the landlord took over 11 weeks to repair the leak. There were unexplained delays at each stage of the repair process. When it initially could not find a source of a leak, it took no further action until the resident reported the issue again. It delayed arranging the block shutdown. It also delayed taking further action following no access. There was also poor communication by not providing any updates about the access issue or repair works.
19. We therefore order the landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation. This is to recognise the time, trouble and inconvenience caused by its failure to complete timely repairs of the leak. This is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for cases such as this where there was a failure by the landlord which adversely affected the resident.

Complaint	Requests for repairs to the internal damage.
Finding	Maladministration

20. Implied into every lease is the covenant of quiet enjoyment. This means that the resident’s enjoyment / use of their property should not be unreasonably interrupted by the actions or inactions of the landlord. This is also supported by paragraph 4(1) of the lease. This states the resident may peacefully hold and enjoy the premises during the term without interruption by the landlord.
21. According to the landlord’s repairs policy, it should complete emergency repairs within 24 hours. On 1 March 2025 the resident reported water was leaking into the electric light fitting in the bathroom. The landlord attended the same day and made the light safe. It also left a temporary light. This was appropriate and in line with its policy.
22. The landlord attended the property again on 3 March 2025. It cut a large square hole out of the bathroom wall while trying to identify the source of the leak.
23. In the resident’s complaint, she asked the landlord to put the bathroom light and bathroom wall back to how they were prior to the leak. In both its complaint responses, the landlord told the resident she was responsible to repair the wall and light fitting. This is not correct in this instance. The damage to the light fitting and the hole cut into the plaster board were due to the landlord’s inactions and actions. The first occurred due to a failure to complete timely repairs. The latter occurred deliberately to find a leak. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it is responsible for decoration if damaged while it is doing a repair. It said she could make a claim through insurance and provided the email address to do so.
24. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the landlord is obligated to repair the communal pipes. Due to its failure to repair the leaking pipes in a reasonable time, the resident’s property has suffered damage. This damage has interfered with her use and enjoyment of the property.
25. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to assist the resident in mitigating the effects of the leak. The resident could not do anything about the leak internally until the landlord met its repairing obligation. The landlord could have provided her with dehumidifiers and offer mould washes to reduce the interference with the enjoyment of her property.
26. The landlord’s interference with the resident’s use and enjoyment of her property continued up until it fixed the leak. As a result of its failure to mitigate the effects of the leak inside the property we have found maladministration.
27. We therefore order the landlord to pay the resident £700 compensation. This is to recognise the time, trouble and inconvenience caused by its handling of requests to repair the internal damage. £500 of this is the insurance excess that the resident incurred through no fault of her own. This is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for cases such as this where there was a failure by the landlord which adversely affected the resident.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

28. The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out clear expectations for how landlords should manage complaints. At stage 1 of its complaints process, landlords must acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It should issue a response within 10 working days of the acknowledgement. At stage 2 of its complaints process, landlords must acknowledge escalation requests within 5 working days. It should issue a response within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.
29. In this case the resident submitted a complaint on 5 March 2025. The landlord acknowledged the complaint 6 working days later. This is not compliant with the Code. It issued its stage 1 complaint response 42 working days later. This was outside the 10-working day timescale and a failure. It apologised for the delay and offered £50 compensation.
30. The resident asked to escalate on 5 June 2025. The landlord acknowledged the request the next day. It issued its stage 2 complaint response in 20 working days. This is in line with the Code.
31. In summary, the landlord delayed acknowledging the resident’s complaint. It also delayed issuing its stage 1 complaint response. This in turn delayed it providing its overall complaint response and resolution. However, it recognised its failings and offered the resident adequate resolution of an apology and £50 compensation.

Learning

32. The landlord delayed acknowledging the complaint. It also significantly delayed its stage 1 response. It should ensure staff are familiar with the requirements of the Code, particularly the importance of responding within the prescribed timescales.

Communication

33. There were several instances where the landlord failed to respond to the resident. The landlord should explore ways to maintain consistent contact with residents while repairs are ongoing.