Stevenage Borough Council (202318656)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202318656

Stevenage Borough Council

15 November 2024

 

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:
    1. A roof leak, damp and mould and asbestos at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord.
  2. In March 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and reported a roof leak.
  3. On 31 May 2023, the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord. She explained that she previously reported a roof leak, but the landlord had not carried out any repairs to the roof. She stated the ceiling was slightly bowed and contained asbestos. In addition, she also stated her property was damp when it rained and then mould developed which impacted her children’s asthma.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 14 June 2023. It apologised for its level of communication about the roof leak and that the repair was still outstanding. The landlord confirmed it had raised a job for its roofing contractor to investigate the leak and provide a quote for the required repairs. It explained after it had received the contractor’s quote, it would review this and, if appropriate, also approve it. It stated after a quote has been approved, the repairs process normally takes 2-3 weeks. The landlord also explained that it had booked a surveyor inspection for the inside of her property for 15 June 2023.
  5. On 21 June 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. She explained that she had been left with exposed asbestos, which was a health and safety risk, particularly for her 2 children with asthma. The resident also stated that the landlord had failed to carry out a patch repair. In addition, she also stated she had mould growing on one of the bedroom doors and ceilings.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 20 July 2023. It stated following the surveyor inspection carried out at the resident’s property, it was recommended that its roofing contractor attended the property to provide a quote for repairs. However, it explained because of budget issues, it could not raise the job for the roofing contractor. The landlord confirmed that the budget issue had been resolved, and it had booked an appointment for its roof contractor to visit the resident’s property on 21 July 2023. It also explained that the asbestos in the resident’s ceiling had been identified as low risk. The landlord stated once the roof repairs had been completed, it would raise a work order for repairs to the inside of the resident’s property for the ceiling and the damp and mould. The landlord apologised for the delay in completing the repair works and offered the resident £50 compensation.
  7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman. She stated that her desired outcome was for the landlord to repair the roof and provide compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused due to its delay in completing the repairs.
  8. Since the resident submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman, the landlord has completed all the necessary repairs to resolve the roof leak, asbestos, damp, and mould. The repairs were completed in May 2024.

Assessment and findings

A roof leak, damp and mould and asbestos at the resident’s property.

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has mentioned as part of the complaint that the damp and mould and asbestos at the property have impacted hers and her children’s health due to them having asthma. The service does not doubt the resident’s comments about hers and her children’s health. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s role to determine whether there is a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and any specific impact on the resident and her children’s health. It would be more appropriately suited for a court or liability insurer to investigate this as a personal injury claim. Courts can award damages in a different way to the Ombudsman and review medical evidence. However, it is generally accepted that damp and mould, and asbestos can pose a significant health risk, particularly for those with respiratory conditions such as asthma. This service can consider the general risk, and any distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord and the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about hers and her children’s health.
  2. The resident raised concerns that there have been issues with a leak and damp and mould at her property since September 2020. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments about the length of time the issue has been ongoing for. However, there is no evidence of her raising a formal complaint until May 2023. In view of the time periods involved in this case and considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this report will not consider any specific events approximately more than 12 months prior to when the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord in May 2023. This is because paragraph 42(c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (available on our website), explains that this service may not investigate complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within 12 months of the matters arising.
  3. This report will consider the initial damp and mould report the resident reported to the landlord as part of her complaint in May 2023. It will not investigate the new report of damp and mould which the resident told the Ombudsman about on 13 November 2024. Approximately 6 months have passed since the repair was resolved in May 2024 and the new damp and mould issue in November 2024. Therefore, the Ombudsman cannot conclude that the new damp and mould issue is linked to the previous report in May 2023. In addition, the Ombudsman recognises the landlord should be given the chance to respond to the new report of damp and mould in line with its repairs policy. If the resident is unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the ongoing repairs, she can raise a new complaint about this to the landlord.

Policies and Procedures.

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy states that the landlord is responsible for repairing the roof, walls inside a property, floors, and the ceiling.
  2. In addition, the landlord’s repairs policy includes the following response timescales for the following repair categories:
    1. Emergency repairs – the landlord will respond within 24 hours.
    2. Urgent repairs – the landlord will respond within 5 working days.
    3. Routine repairs- the landlord will respond within 20 working days.
  3. The landlord’s asbestos management policy explains that the landlord will manage asbestos in its properties and inform, where required, on the location, state of repair and type of asbestos present.

Assessment

  1. The resident submitted her complaint about a roof leak, damp and mould and asbestos to the landlord in May 2023. However, the Ombudsman has noted for contextual reasons that the resident previously experienced issues with a roof leak and damp and mould in September 2020. The landlord responded appropriately to the 2023 report by carrying out a damp survey and completing the recommended works. In addition, the landlord also carried out an asbestos survey at the resident’s property in October 2021. During the survey, asbestos was identified throughout the property in the ceiling and floor. The asbestos material identified was Chrysotile, and it was confirmed as very low risk. The recommendation was to monitor and manage the asbestos throughout the property. Apart from the asbestos identified on the first-floor landing, where the recommendation was to encapsulate it.
  2. On 31 May 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. She explained she previously reported a roof leak in March 2023 and the repair was still outstanding. She stated the leak had resulted in damp and mould in her property, and she also explained that the leak was impacting her ceiling, which contained asbestos.
  3. Shortly after, the landlord provided the resident with its stage 1 complaint response. It apologised for its lack of communication and that the roof repair had not been resolved. The landlord confirmed it had raised a job for its roof contractor to carry out an inspection and provide a quote. In addition, it also confirmed that it had booked an appointment for its maintenance surveyor to inspect the resident’s property on 15 June 2023. The landlord responded appropriately by booking the necessary inspections. However, the delay in the landlord arranging the inspections was unreasonable and not in line with the timescales referenced in the landlord’s repairs policy.
  4. The landlord’s surveyor attended the resident’s property on 15 June 2023. The Ombudsman has not been provided with a copy of the surveyor’s report. However, the landlord stated the surveyor recommended that a roofing contractor visit the property to provide a quote for the necessary repairs. However, the landlord failed to arrange for a roof contractor to attend the resident’s property due to budget issues. The delay was unreasonable and resulted in the roof leak being outstanding for several months with no repair.
  5. Due to the roof leak remaining outstanding, the resident contacted and asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint process. In addition, the resident also emailed the local authority’s environmental health department and explained that she had reported a leak to the landlord which still had not been fixed. She also stated that there were damp and mould issues in the property and exposed asbestos.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 20 July 2023. It explained that the asbestos materials identified in her ceiling were identified as low risk, and it would address this along with the damp and mould after it had completed the roof repair. The landlord also confirmed that its budget issues had been resolved, and it had booked an appointment for the roof contractor to visit the resident’s property on 21 July 2023 to inspect the roof and provide a quote for the necessary repairs. The landlord also offered the resident £50 compensation to recognise the delays in completing the repairs. Considering the period of time the roof, and damp and mould repairs had been outstanding at the resident’s property, the amount of compensation offered was not sufficient to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s errors.
  7. After the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response, there was a considerable delay in an inspection being carried out. The landlord’s contractor visited the resident’s property on 23 October 2023 to investigate the source of the leak. In addition, the landlord completed works to the ceiling to manage the asbestos. Furthermore, the landlord’s roof contractor also attended the resident’s property on 15 November 2023. The contractor recommended several repairs to the roof, which included renewing the roof tiles, felt and flashing. In addition, also renewing the insulation. The delay in the landlord’s contractor completing the roof inspection was unreasonable and resulted in the resident and her children living in a property with an ongoing leak and damp and mould .
  8. Following the roof contractor’s inspection, roof works were completed on 28 November 2023. The works carried out included removing and refixing the tiles, renewing the flashing, and removing and relaying the insulation. The landlord acted appropriately by carrying out the recommended repairs to the roof. However, the Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to complete the roof repairs much sooner than it did.
  9. Although the landlord completed repairs to the resident’s roof, the repairs did not resolve the roof leak, as following a storm, the resident contacted the landlord on 2 January 2024 and explained that the roof was still leaking. The landlord responded promptly to the resident’s report and carried out emergency repair works to the roof on 3 January 2024. After this, the roof required further works to permanently repair the roof. The landlord’s contractor completed the roof works on 4 May 2024. Therefore, there was a considerable delay in the landlord fixing the roof.
  10. In May 2024, the landlord also completed all the necessary plastering and decoration works inside the property to resolve the damage from the leak and the damp and mould and manage any disturbed asbestos in the ceiling. The last of the decoration works were completed on 27 May 2024. Its positive that the landlord eventually completed the required repairs. However, it took the landlord over a year from when the resident reported the issue to complete all the repairs, which was unreasonable.
  11. The landlord acknowledged there were delays in completing the repairs in its stage 1 and 2 complaint responses. However, it only offered the resident £50 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the repair delays. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the landlord to offer the resident an additional £450 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its poor communication and delays in resolving the roof leak, damp and mould, and asbestos. The compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation, which is set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure by the landlord, which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact. In this case, there was no permanent impact as the repairs to resolve the roof leak, asbestos and damp and mould were eventually completed, although there was distress and inconvenience for the resident before the repairs were completed.

The associated complaint.

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy references the same timescales as the Code.
  2. In addition, the landlord’s complaints policy explains that it operates a 2 stage complaints process. The policy states on completion of a stage 2 complaint response, the landlord will include details of how to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman if the individual remains dissatisfied.
  3. The resident submitted her complaint to the landlord on 31 May 2023. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 14 June 2023. The landlord’s response was on time and compliant with the timescales referenced in the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  4. On 21 June 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of its complaints process. Shortly after, the landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 20 July 2023. The response was slightly late by 1 working day, which would have caused a minimal impact. However, the landlord’s stage 2 complaints response did not include any details of how the resident could escalate her complaint to the Ombudsman. Instead, the landlord incorrectly stated that the resident could escalate the complaint to stage 3 of its own internal process. Its failure to do this has resulted in the landlord not complying with its own complaints policy or the Code. It also delayed the resident from bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman.
  5. Given the landlord’s complaint handling error, it would be appropriate for the landlord to provide a written apology for incorrectly referring the resident to stage 3 of its complaint process. The apology is complaint with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance referenced above. Therefore, there has been a service failure by the landlord in its handling of the associated complaint.

Determination (decision) 

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a roof leak, damp and mould and asbestos at the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Provide a written apology to the resident for it incorrectly referring the resident to stage 3 of its complaint process rather than to the Ombudsman.
    2. Pay the resident £450 compensation for its handling of a roof leak, damp and mould and asbestos at the resident’s property. This amount is in addition to the £50 compensation the landlord offered in its stage 2 complaint response.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report.