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A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202316378)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202316378

A2Dominion Housing Group Limited

30 August 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 the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of the landlord since August 2015. The property is a 2 bedroom flat.
  2. On 10 March 2023 the landlord carried out a damp inspection at the property. The report said that damp and mould was present at a low level on all external walls and behind furniture and on the bathroom ceiling. The report said a potential cause of damp on the walls could have been “missing, inadequate or defective insulation within the cavity wall insulation”. The report also identified a problem with the bathroom fan. It recommended replacing the bathroom fan with a centrifugal fan, carrying out further investigation of the cavity wall insulation, investigating the ductwork for any defects, and applying a mould wash to the affected areas.
  3. The resident raised a stage 1 complaint with the landlord in May 2023 . In summary, she complained that:
    1. Damp and mould had existed in the property since she moved in and continued to worsen every year.
    2. The landlord had assessed the mould on several occasions and had carried out mould washes, but had not addressed the root cause of the damp and mould.
    3. She felt there was a rising damp issue and said she did not have a bathroom window or a working extractor fan in the bathroom.
    4. She believed that the extractor fan in the bathroom was venting into her children’s bedroom.
    5. The mould had ruined her family’s belongings and affected the health of her children.
    6. She wanted the landlord to resolve the cause of the mould and to replace the whole bathroom, as it was in a “horrible state”. She said that alternatively she would like to move property.
  4. On 24 May 2023 the landlord emailed the resident, apologised for the problems she had experienced and said it would take the matter seriously and look to resolve her concerns as soon as possible. It said it had arranged a surveyor to visit the property to carry out a full inspection on 7 June 2023.
  5. On 31 May 2023 the landlord issued the stage 1 response. In summary, it said:
    1. It had carried out inspections in November 2022 and determined the property needed to be tested for asbestos before any work could be carried out.
    2. The resident chased up the works 3 times in March and April 2023.
    3. An appointment of 19 April 2023 advised there was severe rising damp in the bathroom, bedrooms, front room and kitchen.
    4. The resident had refused the landlord access to carry out a mould wash due to the extent of works, and said she wanted to be decanted while works were carried out.
    5. It had therefore been unable to carry out the works as the resident refused access.
    6. Contractors had confirmed the resident did not need to be decanted for works to be completed.
    7. It accepted it had taken too long to resolve the issue and that communication had been poor. It gave an apology and offered a total of £325 compensation.
  6. On 1 June 2023 the resident responded and requested for the complaint to be escalated to stage 2. She said:
    1. She had refused the mould wash because the mould would return within 2 weeks anyway, as had happened previously.
    2. When the landlord had carried out mould washes previously, it had damaged her family’s belongings.
    3. She wanted a more permanent solution to resolve the rising damp.
    4. The landlord had not attended to rectify the mould in the bathroom so she did not refuse access.
    5. The issues had been ongoing for years and she was seeking a resolution.
  7. On 7 June 2023 the landlord called the resident. It recorded that another survey was due to take place that day and the resident was frustrated as that would be the 4th survey with no action having yet been taken. She was not refusing access to the property and was concerned that an asbestos test had been completed but no action taken.
  8. On 13 June 2023 the landlord emailed the resident to inform her that before any works could take place, it would need to remove asbestos from the property. It said it would be in touch as soon as it had more information.
  9. On 4 July 2023, the landlord issued the stage 2 response. It said:
    1. In April 2023 the damp and mould specialist team had investigated and concluded that the mould was not due to rising damp, but was caused by internal environmental factors.
    2. Mould treatments were recommended throughout the property along with the fitting of a new extractor fan. It was also proposed to redecorate the bathroom.
    3. Asbestos removal was due to take place on 11 July 2023, and the extractor fan and mould treatments would begin on 12 July 2023. Decorations would begin on 17 July 2023 and be completed by 19 July 2023, when a post work inspection would be made.
    4. The landlord said the resident had been offered appropriate compensation at stage 1 and broke this down as:
      1. £150 for length of time taken to resolve the issue.
      2. £100 for the stress and inconvenience.
      3. £75 for poor communication.
    5. It concluded the correct amount of compensation had been offered.
  10. There were some delays in the works planned for July 2023 due to the resident’s availability. On 2 August 2023 the landlord recorded that the resident would be on holiday from 13 to 18 August 2023 so works could not be carried out during this time, but she wanted them completing before September.
  11. The resident states that the family were decanted in February 2024 so that works could take place, and a timeline from the contractor notes that works were completed in April 2024. In May 2024 the landlord carried out a further survey which indicated problems with moisture ingress in the property and requested a survey to check the wall temperatures.
  12. The resident has explained that ideally she wanted to move to a new property. She said she wanted the landlord to resolve the underlying cause of the damp and mould. She said she wanted compensation for damaged items she has had to replace, including a sofa and flooring.

Assessment and findings

Scope

  1. The resident said that the ongoing damp and mould has impacted the health of her 3 children, particularly one of her children who became very unwell with respiratory issues in December 2023. We acknowledge how distressing this must have been, and it is widely acknowledged that damp and mould can have a significant impact on health. However, the Ombudsman is unable to determine whether there was a direct link between any action or lack thereof by the landlord and the health of the resident’s family. She may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers health has been directly affected.
  2. The Ombudsman has considered any distress and inconvenience the resident may have experienced as a result of the landlord’s handling of the issues raised in in their complaint, and the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about their children’s health.

Assessment

  1. The landlord’s damp, mould and condensation policy says that once reported, it will investigate to determine the cause of damp, mould and condensation and carry out remedial repairs and actions.
  2. The damp inspection report of 10 March 2023 noted that damp and mould was present at low level on all external walls, which was particularly prevalent behind furniture where air circulation was restricted. Mould was also found on the bathroom ceiling. It suggested carrying out further investigation of the cavity walls. The landlord ordered further inspection of the walls on 9 May 2023, but there is no record of this having gone ahead, and the landlord has not provided us with a copy of any outcome of such an inspection.
  3. The March 2023 report also noted that the bathroom fan was not suitable for the length of ducting in place and should be replaced with a centrifugal fan, that the boxing should be replaced, and that investigations around the ductwork to identify any defects should be carried out. Finally, the report recommended “servicing extracts” and making sure that window trickle vents were clear and operable. The landlord should have ensured that these works were arranged promptly, however, from the limited information available, it seems that works were not raised until 27 April 2023.
  4. When the resident complained in May 2023, the landlord booked another survey for June 2023. It is unclear why a further inspection was arranged given that one had only just taken place in March 2023, and that none of the works that this inspection raised had yet been completed. This suggests that the landlord did not appropriately review its records. The landlord’s plan to carry out another inspection was frustrating for the resident, who pointed out that a number of inspections had already taken place. We have not been provided with an inspection report from June 2023, so it is unclear whether this went ahead.
  5. The landlord’s subsequent stage 1 response stated that it had investigated and found damp and mould in the property in November and December 2022, and that the property required an asbestos test before works could be carried out. However, the response did not reference the March 2023 inspection (which again suggests that the landlord did not appropriately review its records). Neither did it refer to the resident’s concerns about her children’s health.
  6. The stage 1 stated that nothing further was done until April 2023 when works were raised. It did not provide a reason for this delay, but apologised and offered £325 total compensation. At the time, this was in line with our guidance on remedies, available on our website, which states amounts of £100 to £600 is appropriate for a failure which adversely affected the resident.
  7. The stage 1 response referred to works being raised on 27 April 2023 to replace an extractor, replace boxing, and investigate around ductworks to identify defects. As noted above, these works should have been arranged sooner. The landlord also referred to an investigation to identify issues with cavity wall insulation, but it has not provided us with any evidence of a works order being raised for this, or that any investigation took place. Without such evidence we are unable to conclude that the landlord’s actions were appropriate or in line with its policy.
  8. The stage 1 response advised the resident that she did not need to be decanted from the property while works raised on 27 April 2023 were undertaken, and asked her to make contact to book these in. This was appropriate action and advice. However, the response also said that the resident was reluctant to agree to the proposed works as she had concerns they would not fully address the problem. There is no evidence to support the landlord’s position here, and the resident responded stating that she had not refused works other than a mould wash.
  9. Further, the landlord said in its stage 1 response that on 19 April 2023 an operative attended the property and “advised there was severe rising damp in the bathroom, the bedrooms, the front room and kitchen”. However, in the stage 2 response, it said “in April [2023], our damp and mould specialist team were asked to investigate, and they concluded that the mould was not due to rising damp but was caused by internal environmental factors”. The landlord has not provided us with a copy of an April 2023 survey for this investigation. Given the contradictory information, it was understandable that the resident felt the mould problems were more serious and needed further investigation and works to remedy.
  10. The evidence available shows that in June 2023 the landlord contacted the resident to say that before any works to address damp and mould could take place, asbestos would need to be removed. While it was reasonable for the landlord to ensure that asbestos was dealt with appropriately, this further delay is likely to have exacerbated the resident’s frustration.
  11. There is no indication that the landlord considered undertaking any risk assessment in light of the confirmed mould issues, the delay in addressing this, and the resident’s concerns about her children’s health. This was a failing.
  12. A record of an inspection of the extractor fan on 12 July 2023 noted that a section of ducting needed to be opened up to ensure it was free flowing and vapour was being extracted. It is unclear from the records whether this work has taken place. A timeline provided to us from the landlord’s contractor suggests works were ongoing from September 2023 until May 2024. However, it is not clear what these specific works were and what inspections or information they were based on. It is noted the resident was decanted in February 2024 and she told us this was for around a month. However, a survey in May 2024 reported issues with moisture ingress in the property. This indicates the underlying cause of the problem is unresolved.
  13. Overall, there is not enough evidence to conclude the landlord dealt with the damp and mould in good time, and in line with its policy. The evidence that is available suggests that it did not. Further, there is no evidence that the landlord considered the resident’s concern about the impact of the reported damp and mould on the household’s health. This amounts to maladministration.
  14. The landlord’s stage 2 response of 4 July 2023 concluded that the £325 offered to the resident was appropriate compensation. However, works to address the damp and mould were not completed until several months later. The resident says she continues to have issues with moisture under the floorboards in the property and this is supported by the May 2024 survey. As such, the compensation offered by the landlord in July 2023 was insufficient to ‘put right’ the adverse effect for the resident. This is because of the length of time the issues have been ongoing, causing additional distress and inconvenience to the resident. The distress over the resident’s concerns for the health of her children has also been ongoing. In line with our guidance on remedies for maladministration, £800 is ordered.
  15. Orders are also made below for the landlord to inspect the cavity wall insulation, or, if this has been done, provide evidence that this has been satisfactorily dealt with. An order is also made for the landlord to set out its planned action following the May 2024 survey.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman’s Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
  2. Pay the resident £800 compensation for detriment caused by its handling of the damp and mould issues. If the £325 previously offered has already been paid, it can be deducted from this total.
  3. Confirm what dates the following actions from the March and July 2023 inspections took place (or if outstanding, will take place):
    1. Centrifugal fan installed
    2. Boxing replaced
    3. Investigations around the ductwork to identify any defects carried out.
    4. Servicing extracts
    5. Ensuring that window trickle vents are clear and operable.
    6. Section of ducting opened up to ensure it is free flowing and vapour being extracted
  4. Confirm whether or not the April 2023 survey (or any inspection of survey thereafter) identified rising damp. If it did, detail what action has been taken to address this and the dates any works were completed. Or if no action has been taken, provide an action plan to both the resident and this Service to address this, with completion dates that should be adhered to.
  5. Inspect the cavity wall insulation as per the recommendations of the March 2023 inspection, if it has not done so already. The landlord is to provide us with the outcome of this inspection and inform us and the resident of any follow on schedule of works. If it has already inspected and taken steps to rectify any issue, it should provide us with evidence of this.
  6. Provide an action plan to address the findings of the May 2024 survey, to include a schedule of any works along with the date these will be completed (which should then be adhered to).