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GreenSquareAccord Limited (202438382)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202438382

GreenSquareAccord Limited

08 July 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 handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould, and associated repairs.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord and lives in a 2-bedroom ground floor flat with her children.
  2. The resident reported damp and mould in the bedrooms and bathroom of her property to the landlord on 23 May 2024. She also told it mould had started to grow on items of furniture.
  3. The landlord inspected the resident’s property for damp and mould on 13 June 2024. It found mould in the lounge, bedrooms, and bathroom. It ordered a mould wash and replacement of the sealant to the windows, the kitchen and bathroom extractor fans, and 2 external grills. It also gave the resident advice on how to ventilate the property.
  4. The landlord completed the mould wash on 3 July 2024. It replaced the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom on 27 August 2024 but said it could not replace the sealant to the windows at the time as the work required a different operative.
  5. The resident made another report of damp and mould to the landlord on 16 September 2024. She told it there were patches of mould on the bedroom ceiling and damp in the hallway, that the bedroom door was wet due to damp, and that paint on the skirting boards in the bedroom and hallway was peeling. She also told it the damp and mould had caused a bad reaction to her skin.
  6. On 23 September 2024, the resident told the landlord the damp and mould was getting worse and there were water droplets on the bathroom ceiling. The landlord attended on an out of hours emergency appointment and found a leak from the flat above.
  7. The landlord returned to the resident’s property the next day and found water had saturated the carpet and skirting boards, coming up from the hallway and bedroom floors causing damage to the bedroom door. The landlord said that it needed to return to carry out more intrusive works which could include removing the bath from the upstairs neighbour’s flat or making changes to the soil stack between the properties.
  8. The landlord attended to the resident’s property again on 27 September 2024 and attempted a repair to the soil pipe connector but did not manage to resolve the leak. It said it would need to return to cut out the soil stack. On the same day, the landlord delivered a dehumidifier to the resident to help remove excess moisture in the property caused by the leak.
  9. On 30 September 2024, the landlord completed work to fit a new section of the soil pipe and resolved the leak.
  10. The resident made a complaint to the landlord on 8 October 2024. She said:
    1. She had been dealing with damp and mould in the property for a number of years, but it had recently gotten worse.
    2. The landlord failed to act following the leak, and she had to contact her local council for help.
    3. She had incurred a financial and emotional burden including paying for prescription medication due to mould and damp in her home and not feeling listened to by the landlord.
  11. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint at stage 1 of its process on 14 October 2024.
  12. The landlord attended to the resident’s property on 21 October 2024 to carry out a damp and mould survey. It found no defects to the building which were causing damp and mould in the resident’s property but did note a condensation issue. It raised works to renew the skirting boards, replace the bedroom door, and complete a mould wash. It noted at the time that a decant (temporary re-housing) of the resident was not necessary.
  13. The landlord issued the resident with its stage 1 response to her complaint on 28 October 2024. It upheld her complaint and said it had failed to complete repair works within a suitable timescale. It:
    1. Offered the resident a total of £702 compensation consisting of the following:             
      1. £150 for time and trouble.
      2. £200 for distress and inconvenience.
      3. £200 for damage caused to the resident’s carpet by the leak.
      4. £152 for the increase in electricity costs of the resident running the dehumidifier.
    2. Apologised that she felt she was not being listen to and that there had been a lack of compassion towards her on its part.
    3. Told the resident it would contact her no later than 5 November 2024 to schedule outstanding repairs.
    4. Advised the resident to make a personal injury claim in regard to the impact of the damp and mould on her health and gave her details of how to do this.
  14. The resident requested the landlord escalate her complaint to stage 2 of its process the same day. She said:
    1. The landlord’s surveyor had incorrectly said she did not ventilate her home.
    2. The landlord had asked for the dehumidifier back but failed to understand how damp the property still was.
    3. She had been told by people in a similar line of work to the landlord, that she should have been decanted.
    4. She had thrown away personal belongings due to mould growing on them.
  15. The landlord issued the resident with its stage 2 response to her complaint on 19 November 2024. It:
    1. Believed the underlying cause of the damp and mould was likely resolved now that the leak had been fixed.
    2. Was unclear what repairs the resident believed were still outstanding that would require it to decant her.
    3. Advised her she could wash the mould off personal items or make a claim on her own contents insurance.
    4. Would consider the matter closed once outstanding jobs relating to its visits regarding damp and mould had been completed.
    5. Increased the total offer of compensation to £827 which included an additional £100 to cover the use of the dehumidifier since its stage 1 response, and a further £25 for the delay in replacing the bedroom door.

Events after the complaints process

  1. The landlord completed repointing work on 10 January 2025, replaced the bedroom door on 7 March 2025, and renewed the skirting boards in April 2025.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has raised concerns about the impact of damp and mould on her and her children’s health. We acknowledge this has been a difficult time for her and her family. It is widely accepted that damp and mould can have a negative impact on health. The Ombudsman can consider the likely distress and inconvenience any identified failings may have caused, but it is outside our remit to determine the specific effect of the landlord’s action or inaction on the health of the resident and her family. Any such claim would be more appropriately progressed through liability insurance or as a civil action through the courts. We note that the landlord has provided details for the resident to make a liability claim if she wants to. If the resident wishes to pursue a personal injury claim, she can seek independent legal advice.
  2. We acknowledge that the resident has been impacted by her experience of damp and mould from as far back as 2018. However, in accordance with paragraph 42.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme) we will not investigate complaints that were not brought to the landlord’s attention as a formal complaint within a reasonable time period, normally within 12 months of the matters arising. This investigation will consider the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould from when she reported the issue in May 2024 up until the landlord’s final complaint response in November 2024 and any actions it committed to as part of its final response.

The landlord’s policies and procedures

  1. The landlord’s damp, mould, and condensation policy states that repairs raised as a result of it carrying out a damp and mould inspection will be given a priority status. These are categorised as:
    1. Emergency. This includes repairs that present an immediate danger to residents and/or will result in severe damage to the property. It will complete these repairs within 24 hours.
    2. Urgent. This includes repairs such as mould washes and those that require urgent attention to prevent future damage to property with no immediate danger to person and/or property. It will complete these repairs within 7 days.
    3. Routine. This includes standard responsive repairs and will be completed within 28 days.
    4. Planned routine. This includes work that falls outside of the usual scope of responsive repairs and require time to plan. It will complete these within 84 days.
  2. The landlord’s compensation policy states it:
    1. Can offer discretionary payments to residents for non-quantifiable losses such as avoidable inconvenience, distress, detriment and time and trouble.
    2. Can pay residents up to £200 for damage caused to flooring.
    3. Advises residents to take out their own insurance policy to cover home contents and personal belonging and that it would expect residents to claim on these policies for accidental damage.

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

  1. The landlord has not published its timescales for completing survey inspections following a resident’s report of damp and mould. In the circumstances of this case however, the landlord responded to the resident’s initial reports of damp and mould appropriately by completing an inspection within 15 working days. Based on the landlord’s findings at the time, it was also appropriate for it to give advice to the resident on how to ventilate the property as well as raising remedial repairs.
  2. The landlord acknowledged there were delays in completing remedial repairs raised as a result of this inspection. The mould wash was completed in 14 days and fell outside of its own published timescales for urgent repairs. It also took 54 days to replace the bathroom and kitchen extractor fans and the external grills which fell outside of its published timescales for routine repairs. At the time, the landlord was not able to complete work to replace the silicone around the windows as it needed to be completed by a different operative. It completed this on 19 November 2024, 106 working days from the date it was originally raised. This was a further failure by the landlord to complete repairs in line with its published timescales and the delay caused distress to the resident.
  3. The resident has said the landlord initially refused to attend to resolve the leak in her property, instead telling her to ventilate her home. She said she was on the phone with the landlord for over an hour until it agreed to attend on an emergency appointment. The landlord has not provided us with the call recording from this time but given it has provided us with a number of call recordings relating to the resident’s contacts with it on other occasions, it is reasonable to assume it had access to this recording at the time of her complaint. As we have not listened to the call, we cannot comment on what was said but the landlord should have investigated and responded to the resident. This was a failure by the landlord.
  4. The Ombudsman understands the leak caused the resident distress and she sought support from her local council as she believed the landlord was not taking enough action to fully resolve the issue. However, once the landlord agreed to attend to the resident’s reports of a leak in her property on 23 September 2024, it did so the same day. It also attended the following day to carry out a more in-depth inspection. After this, the landlord demonstrated its intention to return to the property to carry out further work at the time and made consistent attempts to resolve the leak. Given the complexity and intrusive nature of the repairs required, the landlord acted appropriately and within a reasonable timeframe, resolving the leak on 30 September 2024.
  5. The landlord acted in line with its compensation policy to offer the resident £200 towards the replacement of the hallway carpet following water damage from the leak. It was also appropriate for it to offer £252 to the resident to cover the increased electricity bills as a result of her use of the dehumidifier.
  6. The landlord completed a second inspection of damp and mould on 21 October 2024, 26 working days after the resident reported the issue to it again. This was an appropriate timeframe given it waited until it had resolved the repairs relating to the leak before inspecting any damage within the property as well as damp and mould.
  7. It acknowledged its failure to replace the bedroom door in line with its published timescales. However, there were also delays by the landlord in completing the remaining outstanding repairs including renewing the skirting boards which it did not do until April 2025. This was not in keeping with its published timescales for routine repairs and was a further failure by the landlord which caused the resident inconvenience and distress.
  8. The resident raised concerns to the landlord on 28 October 2024 that it should have decanted her. The landlord’s surveyor noted in the inspection report on 21 October 2024 that a decant was not required. Whilst we acknowledge the distress that the leak as well as the damp and mould caused the resident and her children, the landlord was entitled to rely on its surveyor’s decision on this matter, and we have not seen evidence to show this opinion was not valid. However, in its stage 2 response to the resident, the landlord said it was unclear what outstanding repairs the resident was referring to when she mentioned the decant. The landlord’s response does not clearly explain the reasons behind its decision not to decant the resident, and this was a further failure by the landlord which caused her distress.
  9. The resident also raised concerns to the landlord that personal belongings had been damaged due to mould and damp. The landlord told her she might clean the mould away and signposted her to its advice on home contents insurance. Whilst this was in keeping with its compensation policy, the landlord should have also considered the claim itself or referred it to its own liability insurer as the resident was saying it was responsible for the damage. The landlord should have responded to this so we will order it to do so, as set out below. The Ombudsman will not comment on the outcome of a claim if one is made to an external insurer as insurers are separate organisations from landlords and we can only look at the actions of social landlords. Should the resident remain unhappy with the landlord’s handling of her request for it to compensate her for damaged items and costs incurred, she can make a new complaint to the landlord.
  10. When the landlord has made an offer of compensation, it is the Ombudsman’s role to assess whether the offer is fair and reasonable. Our approach to compensation is set out in our remedies guidance published on our website. Not including compensation for financial loss which related to the cost of running the de-humidifier and the damage to the resident’s carpet, the landlord offered the resident £350 for its handling of her reports of damp and mould at stage 1 of its complaints process. The amount the landlord offered is in line with what the Ombudsman would have awarded if the landlord had not made an offer and adequately reflected the distress and inconvenience that the resident would have experienced as a result of the delays in completing repairs at the time.
  11. At stage 2 of its complaints process, the landlord increased the offer of compensation by £25 due to the delays in replacing the bedroom door. Whilst it is positive that the landlord acknowledged the delays for this repair, it failed to address the delays of the other outstanding repairs it had ordered at the same time. It also failed to appropriately address the resident’s concerns regarding a decant and damage to personal belongings, as well as how it handled the call where she first reported the leak to it. This caused the resident further distress and inconvenience and amounts to service failure by the landlord. It is ordered to pay the resident an additional £100 for the inconvenience and distress caused by its handling of the resident’s reports of mould and damp, and associated repairs.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould, and associated repairs.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident in writing for the failings highlighted by this investigation. The apology should be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on apologies, available on our website.
    2. Pay the resident £100 for the inconvenience and distress caused by its handling of her reports of damp and mould, and associated repairs.
    3. Provide the resident with details of their liability insurer for her to make a claim for damage caused to her personal belongings or assess the claim itself. If the landlord assesses the claim itself, it should confirm its decision to the resident in writing, including the reasons for the decision.
  2. The landlord should provide this service with evidence to confirm it has complied with the orders above within 4 weeks of the date of this decision.

Recommendations

  1. We recommend the landlord pay the resident the £827 compensation already offered in November 2024 if it has not already done so.