London Borough of Hounslow (202422936)
REPORT
COMPLAINT 202422936
London Borough of Hounslow
10 June 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 repairs to the bathroom and adjoining hallway wall.
Background
2. The resident is an assured tenant of the property, a 2-bedroom, 3rd floor flat. The landlord is a council.
3. On 22 May 2023 the resident reported that the tiles around her bath were broken (we have not been told what caused this). A repair was scheduled for 20 October 2023 but could not go ahead as the plaster work directly behind the broken tiles was rotten.
4. A further repair was booked for 15 January 2024. The damaged tiles and rotten plasterboard in the bathroom wall were removed. However, the repair was not completed as the resident wanted the plasterboard on the adjacent side of the wall (in the hallway) replaced.
5. No follow up work took place and the resident complained about the lack of progress on 19 March 2024. The landlord issued a stage 1 response on 11 April 2024 and did not uphold the complaint as the resident refused the repair of 15 January 2024. It said the repair could have been completed on this date and it could have arranged a follow up survey to identify any further repairs (to the hallway wall).
6. The resident escalated the complaint on 18 April 2024, saying she had objected to the problem being covered up (with plaster board and aqua panels to replace the tiles) and this should not be taken as refusing the repair.
7. The landlord’s stage 2 response of 23 May 2024 acknowledged delays arranging initial repairs and the survey following the visit of 15 January 2024. It said a supervisor would inspect on 28 May 2024 to assess if further repairs were needed. It awarded £150 compensation in recognition of these issues.
8. The inspection of 28 May 2024 found the damage to the supporting wall should be repaired (it did not specify which side of the wall was damaged). However, the repair site needed to be assessed for asbestos before work could begin.
9. In her September 2024 referral to us, the resident said the bathroom wall was rotten and she only used the bathroom with the door open and stayed in for minutes. The resident told us the repair delay affected the health of her children, one of whom had asthma.
10. A further survey took place on 19 May 2025 when the scope of work was agreed with the resident. The works were then completed on 23 May 2025.
Assessment and findings
11. The landlord does not dispute it is responsible for repairs to the bathroom tiling and adjoining wall. Its repair policy says that repairs to wall tiles and plasterwork are routine repairs and should be completed within 20 working days. The resident should, therefore, have expected the bathroom tiles to be repaired around 20 June 2023. However, due to the availability of contractors, the landlord did not inspect the wall until 15 September 2023 when it found 55 wall tiles around the bath needed to be replaced.
12. A contractor attended to carry out the work on 20 October 2023 but the repair could not go ahead as the plaster board behind the tiles was rotten. It was not until 15 January 2024 that the landlord was in a position to repair the tiles and plaster board. This was significantly outside its published timeframe to complete the repairs and this amounts to maladministration.
13. The contractor was unable to complete the repair on 15 January 2024 as the resident wanted further repairs to the adjoining hallway wall (there is a suggestion the wall was stained and the contractor took photos). Records show the contractor told the resident that any hallway repairs could be carried out later but the resident wanted all work to be carried out at the same time. The contractor abandoned the repair and carried out a temporary fix, using plastic sheeting to make the walls watertight. They noted that a permanent repair was needed as soon as possible as there was a large area without tiles which may lead to a leak to the flat below, if left for a long period of time.
14. The landlord’s repair policy says it should aim to complete multiple repairs at the same time where practically possible. It appears the issues with the hallway wall were only identified on 15 January 2024, so it is understandable why they could not be repaired on that date as the contractor had not been instructed to carry out this work. The landlord had arranged to repair the broken tiles and plaster board in the bathroom and the resident should have facilitated this, as it was a condition of her tenancy agreement.
15. Whilst we understand why she would want the repairs to be completed at the same time, the landlord acted reasonably when it offered to complete the initial repair and survey the hallway wall later. The resident’s decision not to allow the repair contributed to the overall delay repairing the bathroom tiles and plasterboard and potentially jeopardised the safety of the property below.
16. However, following this, the landlord should have been pro-active and urgently rescheduled the repairs that it was responsible for. It should have inspected the hallway wall and contacted the resident to agree a plan of work. It could have then considered the options available to carry out the repairs if she did not comply, particularly as there was a risk to a neighbouring property. It did not do this and again this amounts to maladministration.
17. Its stage 1 response of 11 April 2024 the landlord failed to acknowledge the significant delay in carrying out repairs and arranging an inspection of the hallway wall. This was a missed opportunity to put things right and there is no evidence that it arranged any repairs before the stage 2 response.
18. It is positive the stage 2 response ultimately acknowledged the repair delay, and that the landlord should have arranged an inspection following the appointment in January 2024. It also told the resident that a supervisor would inspect the property on 28 May 2024 to assess if further repairs were needed. The landlord told us that it does not have a separate policy for compensation but follows our guidance on financial redress. However, its offer of £150 compensation was not in line with our remedies guidance and did not recognise the inconvenience caused to the resident. She had lived with significant disruption to her bathroom from when she first reported the issue nearly a year earlier in May 2023.
19. The inspection of 28 May 2024 found the wall was damaged and needed to be replaced (it is unclear whether the damage extended to the hallway side of the wall). However, it was a further 6 months (5 November 2024) before any work took place. The landlord established on 26 July 2024 that there was no asbestos and repair work could start. We have not seen evidence that the resident was updated during this time or told whether repairs were needed to the adjoining hallway wall. This led her to contact the landlord for updates during this time. On 3 September 2024 she told us that the issue was affecting her children and she could only use the bathroom with the door open due to damp and mould.
20. Again, the resident refused the repair on 5 November 2024. Records show she asked for the whole wall to be completely replaced with new stud work and plaster board. The contractor told her this was not necessary and they could replace the parts that were rotten. The contractor advised her to speak with a technical inspector. We do not know if the resident went on to do so but the repair was not re-scheduled until 18 December 2024. Again, this did not go ahead as the resident refused the repair, so the issue was referred for a joint survey.
21. There was a significant delay arranging the joint survey and then a planned appointment on 16 April 2025 could not go ahead as the resident was not home. The scope of work was agreed during the re-scheduled appointment on 19 May 2025. The landlord agreed to carry out the repairs to the bathroom, check the timber work, apply a mould spray and renew any plasterboard (again records do not show if any of these repairs were to the hallway wall).
22. It is positive the work was completed shortly after on 23 May 2025, but it took the landlord 2 years to agree the scope of the work with the resident and complete the repairs following the initial report of 22 May 2023. The £150 awarded does not reflect the stress and inconvenience caused to the resident during this time.
23. The resident has said to us that she would like the landlord to pay her reasonable costs relating to the issues raised in her complaint. However, there is no evidence she has made this request to the landlord in the first instance, or provided any evidence of those costs. As a result, we cannot make an award in that regard.
24. The resident has also said this matter negatively affected her family’s health. It is beyond our remit to determine whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions and the family’s ill-health. The resident may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers their health has been affected by any action or failure by the landlord. However, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience they experienced as a result of any service failure by the landlord.
25. Living with these issues, and the subsequent temporary fix, for an unnecessary and prolonged period caused stress and inconvenience to the resident. It affected her enjoyment of the property and limited the functionality of the bathroom, preventing her from using it as often as she would like. She also spent unnecessary time and trouble contacting the landlord to progress the repairs.
26. In considering an appropriate remedy we have taken into account that the resident could have done more to mitigate the delay and avoid some of the impact on her. She could have allowed the landlord to carry out repairs to the bathroom on 15 January, 5 November and 18 December 2024. However, we acknowledge that she may have been more likely to co-operate if the landlord had formally agreed the scope of work with her sooner and kept her updated.
27. We order the landlord to pay £400 compensation (inclusive of the £150 already offered) in recognition of its failures identified in this investigation. This is in line with our remedies guidance when there was a failure that adversely affected the resident and, although the landlord has made some attempt to put things right, its offer was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation.
Determination
28. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlords handling of the repairs to the bathroom and adjoining wall.
Orders
29. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to provide evidence that it has:
- Apologised to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
- Paid directly to the resident (and not offset against any arrears) £400 compensation (inclusive of the £150 awarded) for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures in its handling of repairs.