Citizen Housing Group Limited (202431038)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202431038

Citizen Housing

19 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of:
1. Leaks into her property from an upstairs neighbour, subsequent damage, and damp issues.
2. Request for an internal housing transfer.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. The property is a 2-bed ground floor flat, and she lives there with her 2 young children.
The resident had made a disrepair claim, via a solicitor about other repair matters in June 2022, which was settled out of court on 29 April 2024.
The landlord’s records show that the resident originally reported a leak into her bedroom ceiling (from the flat above) in March 2023. The landlord moved the resident to temporary accommodation while the works were ongoing and completed the works in June 2023.
The resident reported a further 3 leaks into her property from 1 August 2023 to 19 October 2023. She also asked the landlord for an internal housing transfer on 2 October 2023. It is unclear what works were carried out but there were no further reports of leaks until 17 January 2024.
On 17 January 2024 the resident reported a further leak into her property from the flat above. She said water was coming through the ceiling into her hallway and was also affecting the electrics. The landlord’s contractor attended on the same day, carried out plumbing works upstairs, and made the area safe.
She reported a further leak on 19 January 2024. The landlord’s contractors attended on the same day and carried out further plumbing and drainage works to the upstairs flat. An electrician also attended to disconnect the lights in the resident’s living room and communal area, which were affected by water penetration. The landlord also supplied the resident with a dehumidifier to assist in drying out the damp caused by the leaks.
On 24 January 2024 the resident reported a further leak. She said the bedroom ceiling had collapsed due to the leak from upstairs and had fallen on her child. The landlord’s contractor attended to make safe and carried out plumbing works to the flat above.
The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 24 January 2024. She said:
1. Water had been “pouring in” through her bedroom ceiling and onto her young child. This was affecting the physical and mental health of the household.
2. This had happened previously, and she had paid over £1,500 due to damage to her belongings, for which she had not been reimbursed.
3. This time, her children’s new beds and carpet were wet.
4. She wanted to be re-housed as she felt very unsafe. This had happened in February 2023 and had now happened again.
The landlord’s contractors attended the upstairs property on 25 January 2024 and unblocked the sink and carried out further drainage works. It also carried out works to the resident’s ceiling to make it safe and raised plastering works. Also, it offered the resident £80 to cover the running costs of the dehumidifier.
The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint on 6 February 2024. It said:
1. It apologised that it had not completed an “accident form” when the resident reported her child had been harmed due to the leak. It acknowledged this was a service failure.
2. Its contractor had attended within its emergency repair timeframe and identified the ceiling needed to be removed and replaced. It had temporarily removed the bedroom door handle to stop anyone entering the room until work was completed.
3. It had used an ‘aqua vac’ and dehumidifier to dry out the moisture from the leak. It offered the resident £80 compensation for the running of the dehumidifier in line with its complaints policy.
4. It had raised works to remove and replace the bedroom ceiling. This was booked for 1 February 2024, but the resident was not home when the contractor attended. The landlord would arrange a new date with the resident.
5. The resident was not eligible for a priority housing transfer. It would only consider a move if circumstances threatened life or would seriously affect the resident’s safety. It advertised its properties through choice-based lettings schemes. The resident could bid for a property via this method, or she may consider a mutual exchange. It also offered details of other housing providers who had their own waiting lists.
6. It offered £80 compensation (for the dehumidifier usage as above) and £50 for its failure to log an accident report.
The resident made a stage 2 complaint on 27 March 2024. She said:
1. The leaks had caused significant damage to her belongings and distress to the household. She feared the ceiling would collapse again and this was affecting her mental health. She feared for the safety of her household.
2. The landlord had not attended to repair the light, which was damaged by the leak of 17 January 2024. It attended on 19 January 2024 to make safe but had not returned to repair/reinstate the lighting. She had then been told that an electrician would attend on 20 March 2024, but nobody arrived. This had now been scheduled for 1 May 2024.
3. She wanted definitive action to repair the leaks, as her child had been in the bedroom when the ceiling collapsed on 24 January 2024. They had narrowly escaped serious injury. Her child was now traumatised and was currently living with a family member due to this.
4. This was the second major leak to her property and the ceiling had not been adequately repaired.
5. The ceiling works remained unresolved. Contractors attended on 16 March 2024 but failed to complete the repairs. The repairs were not scheduled until 29 April 2024.
6. She had already had to pay over £1,500 plus costs for food and travel last year, due to the previous leak and previous ceiling collapse. She now had to pay an excess of £500 on her home contents insurance for the belongings damaged by the recent leak and ceiling collapse.
7. She wanted all the repairs to be completed.
The landlord’s contractor repaired the ceiling on 29 April 2024.
The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 2 complaint on 1 May 2024. It said:
1. It was sorry for the impact caused to the household by the ceiling repairs.
2. It had completed emergency works to the electrics on 17 January 2024, within its 24-hour timeframe, as per its policy. It had also carried out plumbing works to the flat above on 17 January 2024 and had resolved the leak.
3. When the resident reported a further leak on 19 January 2024, it had attended to the flat upstairs and carried out further repairs. An electrician had also attended the resident’s property on 19 January 2024 and disconnected the affected lights. It could not connect them until the area had dried out. It had booked the job for 2 March 2024, but due to staff sickness it had rescheduled for 1 May 2024. It had now completed the electrical works. It apologised for this delay.
4. Its contractors had attended as an emergency on 24 January 2024, when the resident had reported the ceiling collapse. They attempted to clear the area, but the resident had to leave to take her child to hospital. This is because she said the ceiling had fallen on them. Consequently, it took the handle off the door so nobody could enter the room until it made the area safe. They then attended the following day to carry out further works and placed a dehumidifier in the affected room. They booked follow on works to board and plaster the ceiling.
5. On 1 February 2024 its contractor attended to cover the hole in the bedroom ceiling until permanent repairs could be completed. However, the resident was not in, so it could not access her property. The contractor re-attended on 16 and 18 March 2024. It completed the boarding and plaster works on 29 April 2024.
6. It acknowledged that the electrician failed to attend on 2 March 2024, and it should have recorded the ceiling accident on 24 January 2024.
7. It acknowledged the resident’s distress; however, it did not cause the leak, and it responded in the required emergency timeframes.
8. It offered the resident a further £50 compensation for the electrician’s failure to attend. In total it offered £180 compensation.

After the Internal Complaints Procedure

The landlord carried out paint works to the resident’s bedroom ceiling on 20 May 2024.
The resident reported damp to the bedroom on 14 October 2024. She reported 2 further leaks into the ceiling on 12 and 13 November 2024.
The resident approached this Service on 13 November 2024. She complained due to the ongoing leaks into her ceiling, the distress, and impact on the enjoyment of her home. She also complained that the landlord had not rehoused her.
This Service spoke to the resident on 17 June 2025. She said the leaks were continuing and she could not move homes via mutual exchange, as nobody wanted to swap with her when she disclosed the leak issues. As an outcome to her complaint, the resident wanted to be moved and financial compensation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident has said that the landlord’s handling of the matter has affected the health of the household. While we appreciate the resident’s distress, the Ombudsman cannot draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability of impacts on health and wellbeing. Such a determination is more appropriate through an insurance claim or by the courts. The resident has the option to seek further legal advice if this remains a concern. We have, however, considered the general distress and inconvenience that may have been caused to the resident.
The resident has also complained about previous leaks and disrepair in the property. While we understand the resident’s frustration, the Ombudsman will usually only investigate complaints which were brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within 12 months of the issues occurring. This is to give the landlord the opportunity to investigate the issues while they remain ‘live.’ As such, this investigation will focus on events from January 2023 (a year before the resident made the complaint to the landlord) up to the landlord’s final complaint response of 1 May 2024.

Leaks from an upstairs flat, ceiling collapse, and subsequent damage and damp

The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy states that it is responsible for the structure of the home and for addressing any serious cases of damp and mould. It is also responsible for installations for the supply of water, electricity, and sanitation. This includes drains, gutters, and external/shared pipe work. It says it will provide residents with a safe and secure living environment, and where possible will complete repairs on the first visit.
It operates a tiered timeline for repairs as follows:
1. It will attend to emergency repairs, including uncontainable water leaks, immediate health and safety risks, and electrical risks within 24 hours.
2. It will attend to emergency repairs within 7 days.
3. At the time of the complaint, the policy stated that it attended to all other repairs by appointment within 28 working days. This has now been updated to 25 working days.
It says it will respond to reports of damp and mould in a timely way, taking a holistic approach to diagnosing and treating the causes of damp and mould. There is no specific published timeline for damp and mould repairs. It says it will undertake remedial works as necessary when damp and mould are reported.
The landlord’s complaints and compensation policies state that it may pay compensation if a resident has suffered financial loss, inconvenience or unreasonable impact. However, the primary focus will be on putting right the service failure. It states that residents are responsible for insuring their own belongings but that it may pay compensation where there has been a service failure leading to damage or loss. It also says that it may pass claims onto its insurance company. This is when claims are over its excess limits or where a loss adjuster is needed. It does not clarify what its excess limits are.
It offers discretionary compensation of between £1 and over £700, depending on the impact on the resident. It also reimburses residents for the costs of running a dehumidifier, at the rate of £5 per day.
It was appropriate that the landlord attended to the resident’s reports of a leak on both 17 and 19 January 2024. On both occasions, it attended within its 24-hour emergency time frame and made the area safe. It carried out remedial plumbing works to the flat upstairs and disconnected the electricity to the affected areas. This was a reasonable response and in line with its policy. It also supplied the resident with a dehumidifier, which was further appropriate and demonstrates that it made some effort to dry the area out. Further, it offered the resident £80 for the running costs, which was reasonable and in line with its compensation policy.
On 24 January 2024, when the resident reported a further leak and her ceiling collapsing, the landlord attended the same day to make the area safe. This was reasonable and in line with its emergency repair timeframes. It was unable to complete any emergency repairs, as the resident had to leave to take her child to hospital. The landlord’s contractor closed off the room to stop access, which was an appropriate response. It also attended the upstairs flat and noted that the neighbour’s sink was blocked and that the neighbour was using a plastic bag around the pipework, instead of a washer. Further, the washing machine was faulty and back filling over the sink, flooding the resident’s flat below. It attended to these plumbing works on the same day, which was appropriate.
It was further reasonable that it attended the next day to remove the ceiling and assess the damage. The landlord had made the area safe in the meantime and could not reasonably be expected to carry out works when the resident left the property for the evening.
However, by its own admission, the landlord’s contractor did not complete an accident report. Although it acknowledged this and offered the resident £50 compensation, there is no evidence that an accident report had subsequently been completed. This is a failing and caused the resident distress and frustration.
Further, it is a concern that leaks occurred on 6 occasions between June 2023 and January 2024, and that the bedroom ceiling had collapsed, when the landlord had previously completed a schedule of works in June 2023. This caused the resident significant distress and inconvenience and severely impacted on the enjoyment of her home. Additionally, the landlord’s repair records show that the property above was void when the resident reported the leak of 19 October 2023. There are no repair records for this date, which is not appropriate. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to arrange an inspection of the plumbing and drainage upstairs at this time, and there is no evidence that it did so. This is a failing and may have impacted on the leak being resolved in a timely manner.
Further to the resident’s reports of 24 January 2024, the landlord did not complete a full repair to the ceiling until 29 April 2024. This is 67 working days and significantly outside of the landlord’s repair timescales of 28 working days. This is an inappropriate delay, which continued to cause the resident distress and frustration.
Also, the landlord’s communication records show that the resident reported mould in her bedroom ceiling and walls on 27 March 2024, and there is no evidence on file that the landlord inspected this, prior to its visit of 29 April 2024. It is unclear from the records if any works were carried out to remedy this. Strong record keeping is a pre-requisite to providing a good housing management service. The landlord’s communication records refer to her having reported the mould on 13 December 2023. There is no record of this report on the landlord’s repair logs and this is a failing. This could have caused a delay to the issues being resolved. Also, the landlord’s repairs policy says that it will deal with reports of damp and mould in a “timely manner,” and it failed to do so. This caused the resident additional frustration and time and trouble in pursuing the repair issues.
There is no dispute that the landlord took too long to reconnect the affected electrics in the resident’s flat. It acknowledged and apologised for this and offered the resident £50 compensation for the delay. However, it did not go far enough. The affected areas were disconnected on 19 January 2024. Although it was appropriate that the landlord would need the area to dry out, before reconnecting the electrics, it took too long to do so. It did not reconnect the affected areas until 1 May 2024. This is 72 working days, considerably outside its repair timescales of 28 working days. This is a failing which caused the resident inconvenience and frustration and impacted on the enjoyment of her home. Also, it did not let her know when it had cancelled her appointment of 2 March 2024. This is not resident focussed and caused her time and trouble in pursuing the issue.
The resident advised the landlord that there had been significant damage to her beds and carpet. Although this Service cannot comment on liability for damages, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to refer the resident to its insurer to establish liability and discuss any possible claim. There is no evidence on file that it did this, and this is a failing, which caused the resident frustration.
In summary, there were unreasonable delays to the completion of the ceiling works, and an inappropriate delay in reinstating the electrical fittings. Although the landlord did carry out works to remedy the issues, it did not do these in a timely manner. Further, it did not signpost the resident to its insurer to pursue any potential claims. As such, we have made a finding of maladministration. We have made an order for £500 compensation. This is £400 for distress and inconvenience and £100 for time and trouble in pursuing the repair issues. This is in line with our remedies guidance where the landlord has made some attempt to put things right but failed to address the detriment to the resident.
We further note that the resident is continuing to experience leaks and we have made orders for the landlord to address these.

The resident’s request for a housing transfer

The landlord’s tenancy agreement states that residents have a right to exchange their tenancy with another social housing tenant.
The landlord’s lettings policy states that in most cases its properties are allocated through the relevant council’s Choice Based Lettings Scheme (CBL). It does not keep its own waiting list for housing, and this is managed directly by the local council.
It operates an emergency transfer and discretionary move process where there may be an urgent need for a resident to be re-housed. It will consider an emergency transfer where the life or safety of the household is threatened if they remain in the property (and only when alternative accommodation is available). In the case of discretionary moves, it may consider this where there are circumstances that seriously impact on the health or wellbeing of the household if they remain in the property. The landlord will explore other options available prior to considering a discretionary move.
The resident had told the landlord that she feared for the safety of the household due to the recurring leaks and that her child had been injured by the falling ceiling. She asked the landlord to rehouse her on at least 4 occasions between 1 March 2023 and 27 March 2024. She also told the landlord that her child had moved to live with a family member due to the repair issues in the home and the ceiling falling on them. She said the household was “traumatised” and the issues had affected her health and family life.
It was appropriate that the landlord gave the resident advice on mutual exchanges, bidding for a property on the CBL and gave her contact details of other housing providers. This is in line with its lettings policy.
However, it failed to consider the resident’s request under its discretionary moves process. It was aware of the resident’s distress and failed to consider the impact on the wellbeing of the household. This is not in line with its policy. Further, it failed to consider the impact on her family life.
It would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider a housing transfer and then let the resident know of the outcome, regardless of its final decision. There is no evidence that it considered the request, or gave the resident a specific reason why it would not consider this. As such, a finding of service failure is made. We have made an order for £100 compensation. This is for distress and inconvenience and time and trouble in pursuing the issue. This is in line with our remedies guidance where there has been a minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided, and it did not acknowledge this or put it right.

Determination (Decision)

In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of leaks into her property, subsequent damage, and damp issues.
In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for an internal housing transfer.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Apologise in writing to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
2. Provide an update to the resident about any actions it will be taking to address the ongoing leaks in the neighbour’s property. It should also provide a timeline of repairs.
3. Arrange for a suitably qualified person to inspect the resident’s bedroom ceiling and walls and provide a timeline of repairs.
4. Signpost the resident to its insurer to establish liability for damage to personal belongings.
5. Consider a discretionary housing transfer and provide the resident with reasons for its decision.
6. Pay the resident £600 compensation. This should be paid directly into her bank account and not offset against any arrears (if applicable). This is in addition to what it has already offered. This is made up as follows:
  1. £500 for the distress and inconvenience and time and trouble in pursuing the leak and repair issues.
  2. £100 for the distress and inconvenience and time and trouble in pursuing the housing transfer request.
The landlord should provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the above orders.