London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202430110)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202430110

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

30 May 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 the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. We have also assessed the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

3. The resident has lived in the one bedroomed ground floor flat since 2012. She lives there with her child who is under 3 years old. The resident advised the landlord she has asthma.
4. The resident reported to us she has had damp and mould issues since the start of the tenancy. In the evidence the landlord provided to us, we can see in 2013 the resident reported damp and mould stains / water marks on her bathroom wall. There were further issues raised in 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. These relate to damp and mould on the bathroom walls, water coming through the exterior wall, and bubbling internal plasterwork.
5. The resident contacted the landlord on 1 November 2023 to complain about its handling of her reports of damp and mould. The resident said the landlord attended, removed a bush from the external wall and repointed it. The landlord replastered parts of the bathroom and told the resident it had resolved the issue. The resident paid for someone to decorate. The resident expressed further dissatisfaction after experiencing another issue as she felt that she had wasted her money. She wanted the landlord to resolve the matter.
6. The landlord sent its stage 1 response on 6 November 2023. It confirmed it attended on 5 September 2023 removed the bush and repointed the wall. It said it would contact the resident to complete a full inspection. Once completed, it would review the compensation due to her.
7. The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 9 January 2024, stating she had tried to call the landlord over 7 times but had no response. She explained she had an 18-month-old baby and asked the landlord to visit to resolve the issue. On 19 February 2024, the resident provided the landlord with a letter before action in which she asked it for a percentage of the rent back in compensation.
8. The landlord sent its final response letter on 25 September 2024. It apologised for its late response. It found it had not addressed the resident’s complaint in its stage 1 response. The landlord noted the resident had raised repairs regarding the damp and mould. It recognised delays in contacting the resident back and advised it would monitor the repair to ensure it completed it. It apologised for the inconvenience the resident experienced. It offered the resident compensation totalling £1,240 and organised to complete the repair on 3 October 2024. The landlord said it could not give her a percentage of the rent back as the bathroom was useable throughout.
9. The landlord updated us that it completed the repair on 1 April 2025. The resident called it to advise the contractor had repaired the wrong area. The landlord logged the repair, and it has an open job to fill the cracks in the external bathroom walls. She remains dissatisfied and would like the landlord to repoint the brickwork and to increase its compensation offer as a resolution.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

10. We have seen the historical reports from the resident about damp and mould stains or water marks on her bathroom wall. We expect residents to raise complaints within a reasonable time, usually within 12 months of an issue occurring. As so much time has passed, we do not have enough information to make a fair and sound decision. Therefore, we will address from when the resident raised the plastering repair in October 2022.
11. We are aware the resident has made a personal belongings claim and is negotiating with the landlord’s insurers regarding this.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould

12. Landlords need to make sure their homes are safe, warm, and free from hazards. When a resident reports a risk, the landlord should quickly inspect the property for hazards. They must determine if the home is safe and fit to live in. Ignoring hazards can lead to serious consequences for everyone involved.
13. In the landlord’s damp and mould policy it says it will take reports seriously. It will take responsibility for identifying, investigating, and resolving damp and mould as quickly and effectively as it can. It will focus on identifying the root cause and completing repairs to prevent recurrence. It will ensure to keep the resident informed of action, next steps, and communicate on a regular basis. It will arrange an assessment within 20 working days, with any repairs being raised 10 working days later. The landlord aims to complete routine repairs in 25 calendar days.
14. The landlord provided a self-assessment of its response to damp and mould requests in September 2022. It said it would take all reasonable steps to eradicate damp. The landlord would then monitor cases for 12 months. It also reviewed the no access procedure to ensure it proactively contacts vulnerable residents for appointments if no accesses occur.
15. The resident raised a repair about the damaged bathroom plasterwork on 6 October 2022. The landlord replastered on 6 February 2023 after completing asbestos checks. In line with its policy, the landlord should have completed this by 17 December 2022. Therefore, it missed its target.
16. The landlord was alerted that the resident still had damp and mould when a repair to repoint the external bathroom wall was raised on 9 May 2023. The landlord marked this as ‘complete no action’ on 5 June 2023. We have not seen the reasons why. The landlord reraised this on 4 September 2023 and noted that water was seeping through the wall. The landlord confirmed in its complaint responses it removed the bush and repointed the wall on 5 September 2023. The landlord’s repair records state it did this the day before. However, the landlord should have completed this by 18 July 2023. Therefore, it missed its target.
17. In the resident’s complaint dated 1 November 2023 she said water was still coming through and the repair had not resolved the issue. In its stage 1 response, the landlord said it would arrange an inspection. It provided us with evidence that it sent the resident a no access letter. This letter had a ‘requested’ date of 8 November 2023. We do not know when the landlord scheduled the inspection for, if it advised the resident of this before attending, or what date it sent the letter to the resident. We can see the landlord closed the repair on 6 December 2023 as ‘complete – no access’. In her escalation request the resident advised she had called the landlord over 7 times to try to arrange the inspection. The landlord acknowledged the resident did not receive further communication about the inspection until 30 January 2024 when it arranged it for 7 February 2024.
18. The landlord did not meet its target to arrange the inspection in 20 working days. The resident is likely to have lost confidence in the landlord by its lack of urgency in arranging this, especially after it committed to doing so in its complaint response. We have not seen evidence it reviewed whether it would be appropriate to proactively contact the resident after any no access visits. The resident’s frustration was evident by the fact she escalated the complaint after she reported struggling to arrange the inspection.
19. In its final response letter, the landlord said it raised a new repair and arranged to complete this on 3 October 2024. The landlord completed this on 1 April 2025, 6 months after it said it would. The resident reported to the landlord the external wall holes were still there on 4 April 2025. The landlord has advised this service that it still has an open repair to resolve this. We have not seen evidence the landlord monitored the repair as it committed to in its final response letter and in its self-assessment or kept the resident informed. This lack of oversight resulted in the resident living with the issue for longer. The resident bought her complaint to us, indicating she felt disappointment in and a loss of confidence in the landlord
20. In its final response letter, the landlord stated the resident could use the bathroom throughout, therefore it was unable to award 25% abatement of the rent. It made its compensation offer using other calculations. We do not believe it is necessary to rely on an abatement of the rent when there is not a total loss of amenity. In this case it is not likely we would have awarded the full 25% as the installations were still functional.
21. The resident reported to us she does not bathe her child in the bathroom, but in a portable bath in the kitchen. We note the impact of bathroom damp and mould is lesser than a bedroom due to the average length of time spent in it. However, we have not seen evidence the landlord recorded an assessment of the extent of the issue. We would have expected the landlord to assess this, especially after the resident’s letter before claim which stated her belief that the property breaches health and safety and is in disrepair. This will form a recommendation of this report.
22. The landlord has an open job to resolve the holes in the external wall at the date of this report. This is the same complaint which the landlord should have resolved by 18 July 2023. While we have seen the landlord has carried out repairs at the property, the resident reports the same issue today. Therefore, from its course of action, we have not seen evidence the landlord took all reasonable steps to eradicate the damp. We have not seen evidence the landlord identified, investigated, and resolved the damp and mould as quickly and as effectively as it could. The landlord may have identified the root cause however it did not complete the repairs in line with its policy and did not prevent recurrence. It did not show us it regularly kept the resident informed or reviewed the no access procedure if access was not given. Therefore, we have not seen evidence the landlord acted in line with its damp and mould policy and self-assessment.
23. This left the resident to live with damp and mould for longer. This is likely to have significantly impacted and frustrated the resident, resulting in a loss of confidence in the landlord’s abilities to resolve these issues.
24. In accordance with the Scheme, we find there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
25. We have ordered the landlord to issue an apology to the resident. Also, for it to investigate the cause of the damp and mould and put in place an action plan with realistic timescales to resolve it. The landlord is to send this action plan to both the resident and us.
26. The landlord previously offered the resident £1,240 in compensation. This comprised of:
    1. £300 for distress at £100 per month.
    2. £160 for inconvenience at £40 per month.
    3. £150 for the resident’s time and effort at £25 per month.
    4. £200 for the landlord’s poor complaint handling.
    5. £430 which was £10 plus £2 per day for 211 days for the right to repair.
27. The landlord awarded £1,040 for its failings in managing the damp and mould. It used differing time periods for each compensation award. It is reasonable to believe the resident experienced distress and inconvenience for as long as she expended time and effort dealing with this issue. Therefore, we have readjusted this in our compensation calculation.
28. The repair from October 2022 was to replaster the bathroom. We note this was completed outside the landlord’s timeframe. However, compensation is due from when the landlord had been alerted to the damp and mould recurring and the date this should have been resolved, which was by 18 July 2023. Therefore, we have used this date to calculate compensation, up to the date of this report. This is 22.5 months.
29. We have awarded a total £5,284.50, which includes the landlord’s previous offer of £1,240. We used the same formula as the landlord to calculate the compensation amount. The breakdown is in the Orders section below.

The landlord’s complaint handling.

30. In the landlord’s final response letter, it correctly acknowledged it did not resolve the issue in its stage 1 response. This lack of oversight led to the resident escalating her complaint.
31. The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 9 January 2024 but received the landlord’s final response letter on 25 September 2024. This was 239 working days after the landlord’s published 20 working day target for providing a response. In its final response letter, the landlord acknowledged its delays and offered £200 to put things right for the complaint handling. This was appropriate for the delay the resident experienced.
32. In accordance with the Scheme, we find there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Determination

33. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
34. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

35. The landlord is to send the resident a written apology for the failings identified in this report.
36. The landlord is to pay the resident compensation totalling £5,284.50. This includes the landlord’s previous offer of £1240 unless it has already paid this to the resident. This comprises of:
    1. £2,250 for distress at £100 per month.
    2. £900 for inconvenience at £40 per month.
    3. £562.50 for the resident’s time and effort at £25 per month.
    4. £200 for the landlord’s poor complaint handling.
    5. £1,372 which was £10 plus £2 per day for 681 days for the right to repair.
37. The landlord is to investigate the cause of the damp and mould and put in place an action plan with realistic timescales to resolve it. The landlord is to send this action plan to both the resident and us.
38. The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders to us within four weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

39. We recommend the landlord take steps to evidence the date of no access letters and the missed appointment(s) date.
40. We recommend the landlord includes a risk assessment of whether the property or room is habitable in its healthy homes assessment.