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Vivid Housing Limited (202404623)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202404623

Vivid Housing Limited

20 January 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. The resident’s reports of issues with the water supply.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the property, a 2-bedroom house. He has lived at the property since January 2014. The landlord has told this Service it is aware the resident has a heart and lung condition, mobility issues and poor vision.
  2. On 20 June 2023, the resident informed the landlord that there was mould in the water coming out of his shower, taps, and toilet. The landlord advised the resident to contact the water board, who attended the following day to take samples of the water. In a report dated 28 June 2023, the water board confirmed the quality of the water was satisfactory and the “mould” was likely to be mildew, which naturally accumulated in bathroom and kitchen areas and needed to be cleaned away.
  3. On 12 October 2023, the resident complained to the landlord that it had not addressed the water issue in his property. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 30 October 2023, and said:
    1. The water had been tested by the water board and a third-party company, who both confirmed that there were no issues with the resident’s water supply.
    2. Improved ventilation of the rooms and further cleaning would help prevent the fungal growths reoccurring.
    3. It would complete a mould wash at the property to remove the mildew for the resident.
    4. It offered the resident £100 compensation for its identified failings in communication with the resident.
  4. The resident escalated his complaint on 26 May 2024. He stated the “mould” had returned and he wanted the landlord to fit a filter to prevent the problem reoccurring. In its stage 2 complaint response dated 25 June 2024, the landlord said it had not identified any further failings in its handling of the issue, and it had already compensated him for its failings in communication.
  5. The resident remained dissatisfied and brought the complaint to this Service.

Assessment and findings

The resident’s reports of issues with the water supply

  1. On 20 June 2023 the resident contacted the landlord and stated there was mould coming out of the shower, taps and toilet within his property. He states that there appeared to be a mould build up within the water mains. The landlord advised the resident to contact the water board directly as it was their area of responsibility.
  2. The resident’s tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for the water pipes within the property. However, the landlord is not responsible for the quality of the water. It was reasonable of the landlord to direct the resident to the water board in the first instance.
  3. The water board attended the resident’s property the following day and took samples of water away to test. The water board provided the resident with a report, dated 28 June 2023, that concluded:
    1. All samples were satisfactory and complied with the requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018.
    2. The black slime the resident was experiencing was likely to be mildew, created by fungal spores that were not connected to the water supply and were harmless to health.
    3. Cleaning would remove the mildew and improving ventilation would assist with future prevention.
  4. On 3 July 2023 the resident made a further report to the landlord that there was mould in the water. The landlord raised an emergency repair and attended the property the same day. Landlord’s notes of the visit recorded that there was no mould in the water and all taps were running clear. The landlord noted the shower head and toilet pan contained mildew and advised the resident to clean the items regularly to prevent the build-up.
  5. The resident contacted the landlord again on 7 July 2023 and said that although the water board had advised him the water was harmless, his doctor had given him conflicting advice and he wanted the landlord to take further action. The landlord attended the property on 19 July 2023 and agreed to conduct further testing of the resident’s water. The landlord was not obliged to conduct any further testing, given the water board’s test had identified no issues with the water quality. However, it was a proactive step for the landlord to take in order to maintain a good landlord / tenant relationship.
  6. The resident contacted the landlord on 21 August, 22 August, 4 September, and 6 September 2023 asking for an update about the water situation. He stated he needed to get the issue resolved quickly as he was spending a lot of money on bottled water. The resident was repeatedly told he would be called back and updated. This did not happen until 7 September 2023, and the delay added to the distress and inconvenience that the resident was experiencing.
  7. On 11 September 2023, the landlord arranged for a further test to be conducted on the water at the resident’s property. This was almost 2 months after it had agreed to conduct the further testing. The landlord does not have a policy in respect of water testing. However, its responsive repairs policy states that routine repairs will be completed within 28 days. Given the obvious distress experienced by the resident, it would have been reasonable of the landlord to arrange for the water testing to be conducted sooner. The water samples were taken from the resident’s property on 15 September 2023.
  8. The resident contacted the landlord for an update on 26 September and 3 October 2023 and was informed that he would be updated regarding the water test. The resident received no updated and chased the landlord again on 9 October 2023. While it is apparent that the landlord had not received the report from the water testing at the times of these calls, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to inform the resident of this in order to better manage his expectations.
  9. The landlord received the water testing report on 9 October 2023 and updated the resident by email the following day. The report confirmed that all samples had been measured in compliance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018 and no issues had been noted. On 12 October 2023, the resident complained to the landlord that the issues with his water supply had not been resolved and despite him repeatedly chasing for updates, he had not received any.
  10. The landlord contacted the resident on 13 October 2023 to confirm the details of his complaint. It advised that he would be contacted the following week with an update. The landlord failed to contact the resident again, causing him to chase the matter himself on 25 October 2023.
  11. In its stage 1 complaint response, dated 30 October 2023, the landlord set out its findings. It said:
    1. The testing carried out by the water board and a third-party company confirmed that there were no issues with the resident’s water supply.
    2. Improved ventilation of the rooms and further cleaning would help prevent the fungal growths reoccurring.
    3. It had arranged for a mould wash to be completed to help alleviate the affected areas.
    4. It was sorry for not updating the resident as often as it would have liked to and offered £80 compensation for the lack of communication from the repairs team.
  12. The landlord completed a mould wash of the affected areas of the resident’s property on 7 November 2023.
  13. On 26 May 2024, the resident complained to the landlord that the issue with the “gunk” had returned, and his complaint was escalated to stage 2. The resident stated that in order to resolve his complaint he wanted the landlord to:
    1. Install a filter to the water going into his property.
    2. Reimburse him for new shower heads and bottled water that he had purchased.
  14. The landlord clarified the details of the resident’s complaint with him over the phone on 31 May 2024, and sent him a letter to advise an appointment had been made to discuss the complaint further on 18 June 2024. The landlord attempted to contact the resident by phone, and via the landlord’s portal but was unable to reach him on this date.
  15. On 25 June 2024, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It stated it had reviewed the stage 1 response and was satisfied that it taken appropriate action by commissioning an independent report to ensure the resident’s water was safe and offering compensation for the lack of communication. The landlord reassured the resident that there were no issues with the water supply and again suggested lifestyle changes, such as better ventilation, would improve the situation for him.
  16. The landlord did not offer to install a filter for the resident as he had requested. However, given the evidence from the water tests confirmed the water was safe, the landlord was not obliged to take any further action to modify the quality of the water. It was reasonable of the landlord not to act upon the request for a filter.
  17. The landlord did not offer the resident further compensation to cover the cost of new shower heads and bottled water. The landlord’s compensation policy states that compensation may be payable where a tenant has experienced a financial impact due to a service failure. In this situation, while the presence of mildew was unpleasant for the resident, it had not occurred due to a service failure by the landlord. Furthermore, the testing of the water confirmed it was safe, and the resident had been advised to clean the affected areas to prevent the problem reoccurring. It was reasonable of the landlord not to compensate the resident for these items.
  18. In relation to the failures identified, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes, as well as our guidance on remedies. 
  19. The Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies suggests that an award of £80 may remedy service failure where the failure was minimal, and it did not significantly affect the overall outcome for the resident. Considering the delays to responding to the resident, the apologies given, the additional reassurance of an independent water test and the offer of compensation, there was reasonable redress in relation to the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the water supply.

Complaint handling

  1. A landlord’s complaint handling process is an essential aspect of its overall service delivery provision. An effective complaints process will enable a landlord to identify and address service delivery issues in a timely manner. It will also provide learning for future service provision. 
  2. The resident formally complained to the landlord on 12 October 2023. The landlord acknowledged his complaint on 13 October 2023 by phone. The landlord’s complaints policy states that when a complaint is raised, the tenant will be contacted by close of business the following day to acknowledge their complaint. The landlord contacted the resident the following day, in line with its policy.
  3. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 30 October 2023. The landlord’s complaints policy states that will provide a response within 10 working days, and if this is not possible, the landlord will contact the tenant to advise them. The stage 1 response was issued 11 working days after the complaint was acknowledged and the resident was not updated during this time. This was a minor deviation from its policy and a missed opportunity to manage the resident’s expectations.
  4. The resident escalated his complaint on 26 May 2024, and this was acknowledged by the landlord on 31 May 2024. The landlord’s complaint policy states that an escalation request will be acknowledged within 5 working days. The landlord acted in line with its policy.
  5. On 25 June 2024, the landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response. The response acknowledged its failings in communication with dealing with the complaint and offered the resident £20 compensation.
  6. The stage 2 response was issued 16 working days after the escalation request had been acknowledged. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will issue a stage 2 response within 20 working days. The landlord again acted in line with its policy.
  7. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint was mostly in line with its complaint policy. While the stage 1 response was issued 1 day late, the landlord apologised for this and compensated the resident accordingly. Therefore, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the water supply.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord continue to support the resident to improve his understanding of how to prevent the issues he has been experiencing.