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Gentoo Group Limited (202331096)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202331096

Gentoo Group Limited

13 November 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 resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould in a bedroom located over an external alleyway.

Background

  1. The resident has lived at the property since the late 1990s, and holds an assured tenancy. Her adult daughter lives with her.
  2. The resident describes herself as a “vulnerable adult” due to her mental health, and has told us and the landlord that her daughter has allergies and asthma.
  3. This alleyway beneath the bedroom is open and unheated, and the resident believes that there is not sufficient insulation to maintain the room at a comfortable temperature. She has explained that the cold has caused damp (condensation) and mould to develop.
  4. The resident raised a stage 1 complaint to the landlord on 19 February 2024, and it issued a stage 1 complaint response on 11 March 2024. This was escalated to stage 2 the next day, and the landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response on 15 April 2024.
  5. In its complaint responses, the landlord:
    1. Acknowledged and apologised for the resident’s concerns about her daughter’s health, and said it was “never [its] intention to cause distress”;
    2. Detailed the work it had carried out to fit loft insulation, replace the bathroom extractor fan, and apply thermal paint to the bedroom walls, as well as the ceiling of the back bedroom;
    3. Advised that its surveyor had identified “high humidity” in the bedroom, and recommended the installation of a passive vent, as well as a wash down and treatment of the mould;
    4. Noted that the resident had declined the mould wash and treatment because she did not think it would be “beneficial”;
    5. Confirmed that, in its “professional opinion”, its damp and mould team did not think that installing floor insulation would “make any difference”;
    6. Said it would follow up with the resident after the passive vent was fitted, and its damp supervisor would “reattend and reassess the situation” if the vent did not remedy the issues;
    7. Acknowledged that eliminating damp and mould entirely can often require repeated appointments, and that the process had been inconvenient and frustrating for the resident. It advised that it had found the correct processes had been followed, and apologised for any stress and inconvenience the resident had experienced.
  6. In bringing the complaint to this Service, the resident has explained that she wants the landlord to carry out investigations of the insulation (or lack of) in the space between the bedroom floor and the alleyway ceiling. She has explained to us that she has felt “bullied” and “intimidated” by the landlord, and she does not want it to install a passive vent because she believes this will only make the room colder. The resident also explained that she had not been allocated a damp and mould co-ordinator, which she believes the landlord should have done in line with its damp and mould policy.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident is concerned that her daughter’s health may have been affected by the cold conditions in her bedroom, which is located over an alleyway which leads to the rear of the property. Matters of health fall outside the scope of our investigation, because they concern medical conditions which we do not make decisions on. We note the resident’s concerns here for context.

The law

  1. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) the landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the house in repair.
  2. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) specifies excessive cold to be a hazard, and notes that this presents an increased risk to those who have relevant health conditions. It recommends that rooms are kept between 18 and 21°C, and notes that below 16°C there is an increased risk of respiratory illness. It sets out that excessive cold is therefore a category 1 hazard, and should be dealt with as an emergency repair.

 

  1. Damp and mould are also categorised as hazards, and the landlord is responsible for identifying and remedying the root causes where these are found to be present.

The resident’s tenancy agreement and the landlord’s policies

  1. The landlord’s tenant handbook confirms that the landlord is responsible for ensuring the property is “in a good condition and protected against the weather”, as well as providing “advice” about the prevention of damp and condensation.
  2. The handbook says that the landlord will arrange an inspection when it receives a report of damp and mould. It sets out that this inspection will assess the structure of the building, check the level of humidity, check that extractor fans work, and take photos and “samples” of any issues it finds.
  3. It says that residents are responsible for reducing condensation in their homes, and advises that keeping a consistent warm temperature of 15°C to 16°C makes it more difficult for condensation to form. It also says it is the resident’s responsibility to check and bleed radiators.
  4. The landlord’s damp and mould policy says it will “seek to proactively identify damp and mould”, take a “data-led, proactive” approach to identify trends across its properties, and “treat each customer who tells [it] about damp or mould … with respect”. It says it will “work together with [its] customers to provide practical information and advice on how they can manage the environment in their home to help prevent damp or mould occurring”.
  5. The policy also sets out that the landlord will categorise all instances of damp or mould in its properties, taking into account the HHSRS. It says it will “ensure sufficient information is obtained from the customer about any obvious defects… that could be contributing to the prevalence of damp or mould”. It will produce a written report that identifies, wherever possible, the root cause of the damp or mould, and whether specialist third-party contractors or further surveys are required. The reports will also contain “data and information such as temperature and humidity readings, factual descriptions of [its] observations, and photographic evidence”.

Previous reports of damp and mould

  1. The resident told us that she first raised concerns about the conditions in her daughter’s bedroom in 1999. The landlord has advised us that it has not stored records that date back to this time, and that much of its repairs records were recorded on paper. It has shared with us the repairs records it has logged electronically from 2003.
  2. The landlord’s repairs records show that the resident asked the landlord to assess the insulation in the bedroom in October 2008, and that its inspector recommended that it fitted insulation to the ceiling of the alleyway in November 2008. The landlord carried out an asbestos check of the alleyway ceiling in January 2009, but then recorded that the work to install insulation would not be carried out and that it had informed the resident of this on 25 January 2009. It did not note why this decision was made.
  3. The landlord recorded that a vent was blocked up in March 2015, although it is not clear where this was located in the property. It raised a job to check the loft insulation in January 2017, and later that month raised a job to lay a new quilt. In January 2018 it closed these jobs, recording that it had checked the loft insulation, and noted that the resident reported condensation issues in the bedrooms. 

The repairs following the resident’s report of damp and mould in December 2022

  1. The resident reported damp and mould to the landlord again on 6 December 2022.
  2. The landlord carried out a damp inspection in two bedrooms on 7 February 2023. It noted that that it was sunny and 11°C that day, and that its damp meter gave “dry” readings. It noted that the mirror in the resident’s daughter’s room had warped (which the resident puts down to damp), and that there was black mould on the wallpaper of the internal party wall, as well as on the ceiling of the back bedroom. It noted “no obvious defects”, and recommended a further check of the loft insulation, for the bathroom extractor fan to be replaced, and for thermal paint to be applied.
  3. The landlord raised a job to renew the passive vents in the property on 22 March 2023, but this work has not yet been completed because the resident has not agreed to it. She has explained that she is concerned that the vent might make her property colder.
  4. In January 2024 the landlord carried out another damp inspection in response to the resident’s continued reports of damp and mould, which she again suggested was due to a lack of insulation between the alleyway and her daughter’s bedroom. She described the bedroom floor as damp and “freezing”. The landlord recorded that there was dry weather and it was 5°C when it attended, and recommended the further works already identified should be carried out.
  5. The bathroom extractor fan was replaced in February 2024. The landlord replaced the loft insulation on 26 March 2024, but the operative noted this was to the eaves and centre only, because the loft was “full of rubbish”. The photos they took do show some belongings stored in the loft. 
  6. It is not clear, from the records we have seen, whether thermal paint was applied. The landlord booked an appointment for a painter to attend on 13 February 2023, but we understand from the resident that this was not completed as of September 2024.

Repairs to the alleyway

  1. The landlord recorded that it carried out a check of the brickwork in the alleyway on 22 March 2023. As part of this work, its repairs log shows that two coats of sealer were applied to the brick masonry.
  2. The landlord’s repairs surveyor told its stage 2 complaint handler that it was their “professional opinion” that “installing plaster board to the … alleyway will achieve nothing”.

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

  1. There is agreement between the landlord and resident that there is damp in the resident’s daughter’s bedroom, caused by moisture in the air which turns to condensation when it hits cold surfaces. There is also agreement that mould was present in the resident’s daughter’s bedroom during the landlord’s inspections.
  2. The disagreement between the landlord and the resident is over what is causing the moisture in the air, and why the surfaces are cold.  The landlord has advised us that it thinks there is insufficient ventilation in the room, having observed that the blinds were down on its latest inspection (which it said inhibited ventilation), and it believes installing a passive vent will alleviate this issue. It also advised us that the bed in the room is positioned in front of the radiator, which it believes has the effect of blocking the heat.
  3. The landlord has installed a new extractor fan, and increased the insulation in the loft.
  4. The resident has repeatedly asked the landlord to check whether there is sufficient insulation between the unheated alleyway and her daughter’s room. She has explained to us that the room loses heat faster than the other rooms in the property, and that she needs to constantly run the heating to keep the room warm.
  5. The landlord did appear to carry out investigations and suggest insulation was added to the alleyway ceiling in late 2008, but this work was not ultimately agreed to by the landlord. Given the length of time since then and the lack of records now available, we do not know why the landlord did not proceed with this work. The landlord has more recently carried out work to the brick and plasterwork in the alleyway, after inspecting it in March 2023 but has not agreed to any additional insulation. It has told the resident it does not think additional insulation would help the situation, but has not explained to her why it concluded this or what investigations it has undertaken to support its position. 
  6. The landlord’s damp and mould policy contains positive details about the methods and approach it will take when it receives reports of damp or mould. The landlord followed some of this policy, carrying out inspections, noting the wider concerns that the resident had raised about the property, and identifying improvements such as the extractor fan and vent. There is also some evidence that it tried to explain the reasons why it recommended improving the ventilation in the property, and it has acted proportionately in its approach to gaining access to install the vent in the bedroom.
  7. These actions do suggest that it took steps to listen to the resident, however it failed to respond reasonably on the core concern that she had raised about the insulation of the bedroom. This is because it has not explained its decision, or how it reached it. Whilst it has told her that it does not think that extra insulation will help the situation it has not clearly explained why.
  8. The resident has highlighted to us that she would find it helpful if the landlord advised her who the assigned damp and mould co-ordinator is, as its policy says one will be put in place. This could have helped in terms of working with the resident to understand her concerns, the history of the property and encouraging her to increase the ventilation.
  9. Our recent spotlight report on attitudes and respect (which can be read here: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/reports/spotlight-on-attitudes-respect-and-rights-relationship-of-equals/ ), and the Ombudsman’s response to the publication of the Grenfell inquiry report (which can be read here: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/2024/09/04/grenfell-tower-inquiry-phase-2-report/ ), encourage landlords to adopt a human-centric approach.
  10. It is our view that on this matter, the landlord was not resolution-focused in its response. A more reasonable approach would have been for it to check and confirm whether there was appropriate insulation in the room. This would have demonstrated to the resident that it was doing all it could to resolve the situation. If checks showed that there was appropriate insulation, it could have explained this to her and then worked with her to improve the ventilation in the room. Alternatively if checks showed the insulation could be improved, the landlord could then have made a decision as to any further action it would take regarding this. In either situation, carrying out a check of the insulation would have helped the landlord to bring this dispute to a close.
  11. We note that the resident has advised us that the radiator is not particularly strong or effective, although the landlord may not have been fully aware of this concern. We observe that it would also be reasonable for the landlord to investigate whether the radiator could benefit from a bleed (in which case it should provide the resident with appropriate advice on this), a flush, repair or improvement to the heating system in the room.
  12. We also note it was not possible to establish the specifics of the damp readings that had been taken at the landlord’s various inspections. We recommend that it should record the figures given in future, to allow for the best chance at analysing the data in complex cases that take several attempts to resolve.
  13. We also observe that the landlord told the resident that matters of health would need to be decided by a court. While the cause of medical matters fall outside the scope of our investigations, the landlord should have advised the resident that she could contact its public liability insurance team should she want to make a personal injury claim.

Summary

  1. Overall, while the landlord did carry out investigations into the damp and mould, and identify several repairs to improve ventilation in the property, it did not take appropriate steps to demonstrate that it had reached its decision to not offer more insulation in a reasonably evidence-based way.
  2. It is our opinion that the resident’s complaint would have been more satisfactorily resolved if the landlord had appointed a damp and mould co-ordinator to talk through the resident’s concerns and work in a more collaborative way with her until the damp had been resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould in a bedroom located over an external alleyway.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for any distress she has experienced over a long period of waiting for her concerns about the insulation to the room to be investigated and addressed. It must provide us with a copy once complete.
  2. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must directly pay the resident £100 compensation, in recognition of the distress and inconvenience she has likely experienced while waiting for it to investigate the insulation to the room. This amount takes into account the particularly long time that has elapsed since she first reported the matter.
  3. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must confirm to the resident who her damp and mould co-ordinator is, and how she can contact them. It must confirm to us when this has been done.
  4. Within eight weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must arrange for an appropriately qualified individual to carry out a full survey of the room, to investigate whether it has sufficient insulation . It must provide us with a copy once this has been completed, and confirm to us and the resident any works it will undertake as a result (including timescales for these to be completed).

Recommendations

  1. We recommend the landlord’s appointed damp and mould co-ordinator visit the resident in person to talk through her current concerns and answer any questions she has.
  2. We recommend that the landlord check the alleyway ceiling for current mould, and remove and treat any that is found.
  3. We recommend the landlord signpost the resident to its insurance team so that she is aware of how she can submit a claim for personal injury, if she wishes.
  4. We recommend the landlord consider how it stores details of damp inspections, including the specific readings from damp meters and the results of thermal imaging tests. This is so that it has a comprehensive and accessible record of all investigations at a property and can help to build a picture of any trends over longer periods of time.