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Flagship Housing Group Limited (202317467)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317467

Flagship Housing Group Limited

20 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about:
    1. Damp and mould, and subsequent damage to belongings.
    2. The lounge floor.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of the landlord since May 2022. The landlord has health vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
  2. On 30 September 2022, the resident reported damp and mould in the lounge, both bedrooms, and the bathroom. The landlord’s initial inspection highlighted issues with the guttering and porch canopy. It completed work to these on 4 November 2022, and a mould wash in December 2022.
  3. The resident reported the mould had returned on 5 January 2023. The landlord completed a further clean and treatment and raised further works. On 21 February 2023, the resident reported the mould had returned.
  4. The landlord completed a survey of the property on 10 March 2023. This identified condensation in the property. It stated further work was needed to resolve damp and mould and also repairs following a leak in the kitchen on 30 January 2023. Environmental Health completed an inspection of the property on 4 April 2023, following contact from the resident. Environmental health corresponded with the landlord on the progress of the work. Most of the work was completed by 27 July 2023.
  5. The resident complained to the landlord on 26 July 2023. The resident said he had experienced damp, and the flooring had not been sealed following asbestos removal when he moved in. He said the mould caused damage to his personal possessions. He was dissatisfied with the time repairs had taken and the distress caused. The resident requested compensation.
  6. The landlord responded at stage 1 of its complaints process on 9 August 2023. It said it completed a number of repairs at the property following the resident’s initial report. This included mould clean and treatments, replacement extractor fans, a replacement smart thermostat, insulation, a replacement of windows, pipework insulation, and painting. It agreed to cover the lounge floor with a latex topcoat. It said it would assess replacing the carpet in the lounge during a visit on 14 August 2023. The landlord apologised. It offered the resident compensation of £1600 in acknowledgement of delays in rectifying issues and the damage this caused to personal items.
  7. The resident was unhappy with the amount of compensation the landlord offered. He escalated his complaint on 14 August 2023.
  8. In its final response on 15 September 2023, the landlord upheld its stage 1 decision. The landlord said it visited the property on 14 August 2023. It had inspected the condition of the lounge carpet and underlay. It said the sofa, carpet and underlay were free of mould. It said it was not necessary to latex the living room floor based on the condition of the flooring and underlay, and the work which had been completed. It said it would continue to monitor the data from the smart thermostat. The landlord said damage to furnishings and personal belongings should be claimed under the resident’s home contents insurance.
  9. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s offer of compensation and its decision not to latex the lounge room floor. The resident confirmed to the Service in April 2025 that the landlord has since agreed to complete this work. He is awaiting an update on his request for this to take place during the summer.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has since complained to the Ombudsman about issues at the property since moving in, including about an asbestos survey and the property condition. The Ombudsman may not investigate complaints which are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure. The resident raised a stage 1 complaint in May 2023 about damage to carpets from a leak in January 2023. We have not seen evidence of these complaints having exhausted the landlord’s complaints process. Because of that, we have not investigated the issues about leaks, the asbestos survey and the condition of the property on letting. This investigation focuses on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports addressed in the landlord’s final complaint response on 15 September 2023.
  2. In his submission to the Ombudsman, the resident has referred to his situation impacting upon his health. In accordance with paragraph 42.f. of the Scheme, health concerns are more effectively resolved and remedied through the courts. It will not be considered in this report.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about damp and mould, and subsequent damage to belongings

  1. The landlord has a repairs policy effective from September 2023. It is not clear if this was in place at the time of the resident’s complaint. The policy states that routine repairs are completed within 28 days and major repairs within 90 days.
  2. The landlord’s records show that a number of repairs were completed following the resident’s first report on 30 September 2022. The landlord attended on 14 October 2022 and carried out the repairs identified on 4 November 2022. The landlord attended the property again on 11 November 2022 following the resident’s report about further damp and mould on 28 October 2022. It then completed a mould treatment and clean on 15 December 2022. The timescales here were appropriate. Although, it was not clear why the landlord had not offered a treatment and clean of the mould in the interim following the resident’s initial report.
  3. The resident reported a return of damp and mould on 5 January 2023. Again, the landlord inspected within a reasonable timescale on 23 January 2023. It raised repairs to vents, windows, the bathroom heater, and a further clean and treatment. Part of the works were completed. However, the resident reported that the damp and mould returned on 21 February 2023.
  4. It was evident the landlord investigated and instructed works following each report. However, it did not complete a damp and mould survey until 10 March 2023 to identify the cause. This was despite the resident reporting the mould returning again. The landlord’s records show it internally requested a damp and mould survey in November 2022 but this did not happen. The landlord failed to retain an oversight of the repairs. This caused a delay to the identification of the cause of the damp and mould and the full remedial work. The landlord also did not demonstrate that it had taken the health vulnerabilities of the resident into consideration in its response time to identify the cause of the damp and mould. The resident experienced continued damp and mould in his property while waiting for the repairs to be completed.
  5. Following a visit and report by Environmental Health on 4 April 2023, the landlord instructed further works. This included cavity wall insulation. The landlord confirmed to Environmental Health in May 2023 it had raised the damp and mould works identified. The repairs to the fans were completed on 27 April 2023, the windows installed on 26 June 2023, the cavity wall insulation completed on 10 July 2023, pipe insulation and painting in the bedrooms on 27 July 2023. The work to the bedrooms was delayed due to the need for a storage container for the furniture in the bedroom. It should not have been necessary for the Environmental Health department to have intervened.
  6. While the Ombudsman understands that complex repairs and investigation of damp and mould issues may require additional time for the landlord to complete them, there is an expectation that the landlord keeps in communication with the resident and updates them on the progress of the repairs. The landlord’s records show the resident taking the time and trouble to follow up with the landlord about the repairs on multiple occasions. As a result, the resident was unsure of when the repairs would take place, and in concern for his health contacted Environmental Health for assistance with the matter.
  7. The landlord acknowledged its delays in rectifying the issues and attempted to put this right through its apology and offer of compensation. The landlord also said it had ordered further work to install extra vent tiles. The landlord confirmed that a contractor was not able to fit a radiator in the bathroom. However, it did not confirm if further investigations into a solution would take place. While works to the bathroom took place in November 2023, it was not clear if the issues with the heater has been resolved.
  8. We are not able to comment on whether the landlord was liable for the damage to the resident’s possessions. This is because we cannot say how they were damaged or what the likely cost to replace them would be based on the evidence we have seen.
  9. The tenancy agreement states that the resident is responsible for insuring their own personal belongings and any other items they are responsible for like carpets and furniture. However, a contents insurance policy is unlikely to cover damage resulting from damp and mould. This is because the damage is caused gradually and not suddenly and unexpectedly like the perils listed in a contents policy (fire, flood or escape of water). Given that the resident felt the landlord’s delays to resolving the damp and mould have caused the damage to his belongings, it may have been reasonable for the landlord to have signposted information about its own insurer, for the resident to pursue.
  10. The landlord made an offer of compensation of £1600 in acknowledgement of the delays in rectifying the issues and the damage this caused to personal items. It is essential for landlords to break down any offers of compensation so that a resident can understand to what extent it has acknowledged the impact of each individual failure. The Service considers that the £1600 offered by the landlord was reasonable redress – as £1,000 for the delays would be in line with the type of award we would make and there is no evidence to suggest that £600 would not be a fair contribution to the damaged items.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about the lounge floor

  1. The landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about the flooring in its stage 1 complaint response. It detailed the process it had undertaken when the work was completed prior to the resident moving in. Its explanation was in line with its records of investigating the issue internally.
  2. As part of the stage 1 resolution the landlord said it would assess replacing the carpet in the lounge at a visit on 14 August 2023. This was a reasonable action to take. At stage 1, the landlord agreed to complete work to cover the lounge flooring with a latex topcoat. At stage 2, following its inspection, it confirmed that it did not deem it necessary. The landlord’s stage 1 response did not give the resident an indication that this action would be dependent on further investigation of the flooring. It is therefore understandable that the resident was dissatisfied with this outcome. The landlord’s final response on the matter explained why it had taken the decision not to complete this work. This was consistent with the information in its repair records.
  3. Overall, the complaint responses about the lounge floor have caused confusion and inconvenience to the resident who has continued to pursue this repair. The landlord’s complaint process did not acknowledge this poor communication. Therefore, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the lounge floor. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident compensation of £50 to account for its failure here. That the landlord has since agreed to do the floor – does not indicate there is evidence of failure on its original decision based on the evidence we have reviewed.

Determination.

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about damp and mould, and subsequent damage to belongings.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about the lounge floor.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord must pay the resident compensation of £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident from the failings found in this report.
  2. If it has not already done so, the landlord is to provide the resident with an update on any outstanding repairs to the bathroom heater.
  3. The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should pay the resident the £1600 compensation it has offered the resident through its complaints process if it has not done so already. The Ombudsman’s determination of reasonable redress is based on the understanding that this compensation will be paid.
  2. The landlord may wish to sign post the resident to its legal liability insurer in respect of their damage to goods.
  3. The landlord should contact the resident to provide an update on the work to cover the lounge floor with a latex topcoat.