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Dacorum Borough Council (202335702)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202335702

Dacorum Borough Council

19 November 2024


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of the Scheme.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within his jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

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

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, consideration must be given to all the circumstances of the case, as there are sometimes reasons why complaints will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The property is a leasehold property. The individual who brought the complaint to the Ombudsman lives in the property but is not the leaseholder.
  2. On 24 March 2023, the resident told the landlord there had been damp and mould in the property since November 2022. An inspection took place in May 2023, which found the leak was from the gutters and there was a possible fault with an external wall. The landlord cleared the gutters on 1 August 2023.
  3. On 21 August 2023, the resident told the landlord its surveyor had not replied to him about the leak. On 8 November 2023, the resident contacted the landlord again and asked when it would fix the leak. On 9 November 2023, the landlord responded and said the original surveyor no longer worked for it. It said it had arranged for another surveyor to visit.
  4. On 16 November 2023, the resident complained about damp and mould in his property. He said his son had asthma and he had a persistent cough. He said the landlord had done nothing since he first reported the problem in March 2023, and the damp and mould was making his children unwell.
  5. A surveyor attended on 17 October 2023 and recommended a mould wash, installing a humidistat extractor fan, checking the loft space for insulation and vents, and checking external walls for cracks and defective mortar.
  6. In its complaint response on 21 November 2023, the landlord said it had sent the recommended works for approval as a priority, and it would update the resident. It apologised for the delays and inconvenience caused and said it had reviewed processes to ensure it picked up work when a staff member left.
  7. On 30 November 2023, the resident escalated his complaint. He said he was no closer to resolution and it was common sense that when someone left, their work would be picked up. He said the situation was making him unwell, and his son was taking stronger medication because of the damp and mould.
  8. On 11 December 2023, the landlord offered to reimburse the resident with £1,649.04 for damage to his personal property caused by the damp and mould.
  9. In its final response on 5 January 2024, the landlord said it had attempted to contact the resident but had been using the wrong telephone number. It said its communication with the resident had been poor and it had not progressed the work. It said an appointment would be made to look in the loft and if that was inconclusive, further options to find the underlying cause of damp and mould would be considered. It said it would give regular updates and offered £250 compensation for disruption and undue stress caused.
  10. The resident escalated his complaint to the Ombudsman as he wanted the landlord to resolve the damp and mould and compensate him for costs incurred. The landlord’s repairs records say it completed work on 27 February 2024.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 25 of the Scheme sets out who can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. This makes it clear that the Ombudsman can only investigate a complaint made by a person who is or has been in a landlord/tenant relationship with a member. This includes people who have a lease, tenancy, licence to occupy, service agreement, or other arrangement to occupy premises owned or managed by a member.
  2. The Ombudsman has noted that the individual who brought the complaint to the Ombudsman is not the leaseholder. Because of this, the Ombudsman cannot investigate the complaint. This is in accordance with paragraph 41.a. of the Scheme which states the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints that were not referred by one of the people who can use the Scheme under paragraph 25.