Stockport Homes Limited (202406883)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202406883

Stockport Homes Limited

6 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

The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reported damp and mould.

Background

The resident occupies the property under an assured tenancy agreement, the landlord is a local authority. The property is a 2-bedroom home which the resident has occupied since 2007.
The resident has been reporting the presence of damp and mould in the property since 2023. Prior to the complaint the landlord conducted several damp and mould inspections, and it completed repairs to try and address the presence of damp and mould.
On 20 May 2024 the resident complained to the landlord. In their complaint the resident said:
1. The landlord had not been able to address the damp and mould even though it had conducted numerous inspections.
2. They had reported leaks in their children’s room in February 2023. The associated damp had not been rectified, and it had damaged plastering and the wallpaper.
3. There was black mould on windows and water running down walls in the property, the resident thought this was linked to roof issues.
4. The resident wanted to be moved from the property as the issues had been ongoing for a year.
On 28 June 2024 the landlord provided a stage one response which said:
1. It understood that the resident was frustrated with the number of inspections which had occurred. The landlord said the number of inspections showed it was committed to addressing the damp and mould, but this case was complex and required significant work.
2. The landlord said it had arranged for a roof inspection to occur due to the resident’s concerns that the issues were linked to the roof.
3. When the resident first reported concerns about damp and mould in February 2023 it arranged for a mould wash, and for a damp and mould inspection to occur.
4. The damp and mould inspection occurred in April 2023, and following the inspection it completed repairs in July 2023.
5. It had conducted damp and mould inspections in July 2023 and October 2023. Following the October inspection the landlord arranged for various repairs to occur between October 2023 and February 2024.
6. The landlord had arranged for plastering repairs to occur on 15 December 2023, but it had to reschedule this appointment to 25 March 2024 as it had not correctly estimated the time taken to complete the repair. The resident did not allow access on 25 March 2024, so the repair had been re-arranged to occur on 15 August 2024.
7. The landlord said after the plastering had been repaired it would provide the resident with £45 per room for re-decoration costs.
On 1 July 2024 the resident escalated their complaint as there was still damp and mould present in the home and they felt the repairs conducted by the landlord had been poor quality.
On 30 July 2024 the landlord provided a stage 2 response which included:
1. It had arranged for an inspection to occur, this inspection found there were no underlying issues or defects which would cause damp and mould.
2. The surveyor had suggested additional repairs which the landlord could conduct in an effort to eliminate the damp and mould.
3. The surveyor identified mould in the living room which the landlord planned to treat.
On 14 August 2024 the resident told this Service they were not satisfied with the landlord’s response. They felt the landlord had made excuses and they wanted sufficient compensation and to be moved to another property.

Assessment and findings

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

The landlord’s damp and mould policy says when a resident reports damp and mould it will respond within 10 working days. It will clean affected areas and conduct minor repairs. If the landlord needs to conduct any additional repairs these will be completed in-line with the landlord’s repairs policy.
The landlord’s repairs policy outlines its response times for repairs. The landlord will aim to attend and complete routine repairs within 30 days. If a repair is non-standard or complex the landlord will aim to rectify the issue as soon as possible. However, factors such as the need for multiple visits, or the requirement for multiple trades persons can affect its response times.
The repairs policy outlines the landlord’s commitment to taking all reasonable steps to identify and diagnose the cause of damp and mould in a resident’s home. If the cause of damp and mould is linked to structural or building fabric issues the landlord will take all reasonable steps to repair the issue. If damp and mould issues are assessed as being severe or re-occurring the landlord can fund dehumidifiers or ventilation systems.
The landlord’s compensation policy says it can offer a resident compensation for its service failures. Any offer of compensation will consider mitigating factors. The amount the landlord can offer a resident is:
1. £10 to £100 for minor issues with a small impact.
2. £100 to £500 for issues which result in on-going inconvenience.
3. £500 to £1500 for significant failures with a long-term impact.
4. £1500+ for long-term distress which causes significant physical or emotional impact. It is extremely rare that this level of compensation will be offered.
The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould provides recommendations for landlords, including that landlords should:
1. Identify complex cases at an early stage and have a strategy for keeping residents informed about the progress of repairs.
2. Identify where an independent, mutually agreed and suitably qualified surveyor should be used. The landlord should share the outcomes of all surveys and inspections with residents to help them understand findings and be clear on next steps.
3. Landlords should then act on accepted survey recommendations promptly.
On 17 February 2023 the resident reported the presence of damp and mould in the property. The landlord attended 14 working days later on 9 March 2023 and applied anti-mould paint and arranged for a technical inspection to occur. This response time was 4 working days outside of the landlord’s repairs policy. While this was not in-line with policy, the delay was short and would not have had a major impact.
The technical inspection occurred on 5 April 2023, during this inspection the landlord installed ventilation fans in the kitchen and bathroom. The landlord also raised works for windows to be re-sealed and for a mould wash to occur. The landlord conducted the mould wash 91 days later on 5 July 2023, and it re-sealed the windows 100 days later on 14 July 2023. The timescales for both repairs were unreasonable in length.
On 6 July 2023 the landlord attended the property and inspected the roof and the damaged plastering to assess if these were linked to damp and mould. The landlord did not identify any issues linked to the roof. The attending agent felt the issues with the plastering appeared to be linked to external issues, and this required a technical survey. The survey occurred 91 days later on 5 October 2023. This timeframe was inappropriate in length, and it was not in-line with the landlord’s repairs policy.
During the 5 October 2023 inspection the landlord noted the property’s ventilation system was not working. When the resident’s complaint was referred to this Service records indicate the ventilation system had still not been repaired. This is inappropriate and the Ombudsman has made an order for the landlord to rectify this.
Following the 5 October 2023 inspection the landlord arranged for additional re-sealing and mould washes to occur in October and November 2023, this was appropriate. The landlord also raised works for the loft insulation to be inspected to ensure it was properly laid. The landlord completed this work on 15 February 2024, this timescale was inappropriate given the nature of the planned work and considering how long the damp and mould issues had been ongoing for.
In November 2023 the landlord classified the property as having major damp and mould. After this classification the landlord did not offer the resident additional support, nor did it evaluate how it was addressing the damp and mould. As the damp and mould was classed as major and it was re-occurring, the landlord could have acted in-line with its repairs policy and supplied the resident with dehumidifiers, and fix the ventilation system. It did not adopt this approach, this was a failing.
After categorising the property as having a major damp and mould issue the landlord should have critically reviewed its actions, as it had yet to be effective in eliminating the damp and mould. At this point it would have been reasonable for the landlord to consider instructing a damp and mould specialist. This would have aided the landlord in finding an effective approach.
On 15 December 2023 the landlord inspected the roof and gables. The attending agent felt there could be issues with the expansion joints and that a joiner should attend to inspect these. On 24 April 2024 the landlord cancelled this work as it didn’t consider the gables to be linked to the on-going damp and mould issues. This was inappropriate considering the landlord was still unsure what the cause of the damp and mould was.
On 25 January 2024 the landlord contacted the resident and said it was trying to arrange for a surveyor who was familiar with the case to conduct another inspection. On 12 February 2024 the resident told the landlord a surveyor had not been in contact, and the landlord raised this with a manager. The next inspection occurred on 21 March 2024. This response time was inappropriate when considering the landlord’s repairs policy.
The resident informed the landlord that damp in the property had damaged the plastering and wallpaper. The landlord planned to repair the damaged plastering on 15 December 2023, but it had not booked in enough time to fully complete the work, so the repair was re-arranged for 25 March 2024. This was unreasonable.
The resident did not facilitate access in March 2024 which led to delays. The repair was delayed again when the landlord decided it needed to complete repairs linked to the damp and mould before it could repair the plastering. In its stage one response the landlord said it would provide the resident with compensation of £45 for each room which required re-decoration after the plastering repairs had occurred. This was appropriate.
On 20 May 2024 the resident complained to the landlord. In its stage one and two responses the landlord summarised the repairs it had conducted since February 2023. The landlord said the case was complex, but it was committed to getting to the root of the damp and mould issues. This commitment was appropriate, but it should have been followed up with substantive action.
In its complaint responses the landlord did not acknowledge that its actions might have contributed to delays, or consider whether offering compensation would be appropriate to recognise the impact of such delays. This was inappropriate given the landlord had conducted repairs outside of its repairs policy timescales. The Ombudsman expects landlords to use their complaints procedures to put things right and to learn from mistakes, and the landlord failed to do so in this instance.
The Ombudsman appreciates that in this instance the damp and mould issues were challenging, and the landlord conducted several repairs to try and rectify the damp and mould. However, on several occasions the landlord failed to achieve the response times outlined in its policy, and it failed to identify the requirement for specialist support. This prolonged the period in which the resident was living with damp and mould.
The resident told this Service that when the landlord attends the property about the damp and mould it either conducts small repairs, or treats the mould. The resident feels the landlord has not taken substantial steps to address the root cause of damp and mould or why there is water ingress into the property, so the mould keeps coming back. This is unreasonable.
Since the resident referred their complaint to this Service an independent surveyor who specialises in damp and mould has conducted an inspection. This inspection occurred on 13 January 2025, and the surveyor concluded:
1. The property was fir for habitation, but the landlord was required to conduct repairs to
2. The property was affected by structural dampness in the gable end wall.
3. There were loose trims and defective seals in windows around the property.
4. The ventilation system was not working as its fuse had been removed.
The surveyor also produced a proposed schedule of repairs for the landlord to complete. The resident has said the landlord has not shared the report and associated documents with them, this is inappropriate. The Ombudsman has made an order for the landlord to complete the repairs outlined in the surveyor’s report and to provide a copy of the report to the resident.
The resident has asked the landlord if they can be moved to a new property due to the ongoing damp and mould issues. In exceptional circumstances the Ombudsman can instruct landlords to make a resident a rehousing offer. Such circumstances include if a property is overcrowded or deemed to be not fit for habitation, such circumstances are not applicable to the resident’s complaint. The Ombudsman has made a recommendation for the landlord to outline its stance on rehousing the resident, and to provide the resident with any necessary paperwork so they can apply to be rehoused.
Whilst it is positive that the landlord has taken further steps to resolve the issues since this complaint was referred to us, it is unsatisfactory that the damp and mould has not been fully resolved yet. The Ombudsman therefore finds maladministration occurred in the landlord’s handling of the reported damp and mould after considering:
1. The landlord did not complete all repairs to address the damp and mould in a reasonable timeframe.
2. The landlord did not complete all inspections in-line with its repairs policy.
3. The landlord did not identify the requirement for specialist advice in a reasonable timeframe.
4. The landlord did not offer the resident additional assistance once it classified the damp and mould as ‘major’.
5. The resident has been living with the presence of damp and mould for a significant time and the landlord has yet to identify the root cause of the damp and mould.
6. The landlord did not offer the resident redress during its internal complaints procedure.
The Ombudsman has made an order for the landlord to pay compensation of £600. This figure is reflective of the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s failure to rectify the damp and mould in a timely manner, and the landlord’s failure to acknowledge this during its internal complaints procedure.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in relation to the landlord’s handling of reported damp and mould.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord is ordered to pay compensation of £600 to the resident in recognition of the distress caused by the landlord’s handling of the reported damp and mould.
Within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord is to apologise to the resident for the failures outlined in this report. It is to include details of how it plans to address the damp and mould going forward.
Within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord is to provide a planned schedule of works. The schedule is to include the repairs identified during the 13 January 2025 inspection, and repairs to the plastering.
Within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord is to repair the property’s ventilation system.
Within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord is to provide the resident with the surveyor’s report dated 13 January 2025 as well as any accompanying documents.
The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with this order within 4 weeks of the determination date.

Recommendations

The landlord is to consider if it should provide the resident with dehumidifiers in-line with its repairs policy.
The landlord should outline its stance on rehousing the resident.
The landlord should provide the resident with necessary documentation to apply to be rehoused.