Habinteg Housing Association Limited (202302620)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202302620

Habinteg Housing Association Limited

25 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs.

Background

The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord, which began on 14 August 2017. The landlord is a housing association. The resident lives in a 3-bedroom, semi-detached house. The resident has mobility issues and lives with 3 young children, which the landlord is aware of.
On 9 and 17 February 2022, the landlord noted that the drain in the wet room floor needed resealing as water was getting underneath. The resident raised further issues on 15 August 2022 regarding the tiles in the wet room, rotted beading, and holes in the wall that had not been sealed, which she said had caused damp in the hallway after she had redecorated and had new flooring fitted. She said she incurred additional electricity costs due to using a dehumidifier to dry out the wet room and hallway.
The resident continued to report various repairs from 8 February 2023 onwards.
On 17 August 2023, the resident complained to the landlord about outstanding repairs; the key points were as follows:
1. The landlord had failed to complete the following works.
  1. Repairs to the kitchen, which was falling apart and dangerous.
  2. Paint the kitchen where there had been a flood.
  3. Fit a new bathroom upstairs.
  4. Re-plaster the bathroom and a hole in a bedroom wall.
  5. Repairs to the wet room downstairs, including repainting the ceiling due to damp.
  6. Replace the heating system.
2. Several surveyors had visited, with one indicating on 7 June 2023 that the works would take 28 days.
3. She wanted a property that was safe and would not cause health issues.
4. She had replaced tiles in the wet room. She had also redecorated the hall and replaced the flooring several times due to issues with the wet room, but the hallway flooring was ruined again due to damp and mould.
5. She wanted the landlord to complete the works and reimburse a proportion of electricity charges incurred due to using a dehumidifier to dry out the wet room.
The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 23 August 2023 and, on 4 September 2023, requested an extension to reply. It issued a stage 1 response on 18 September 2023; the key points were as follows:
1. It apologised for repeat service failures.
2. It had visited on 12 September 2023 to discuss the resident’s frustration with repairs that it had not completed satisfactorily.
3. It would renew the wet room, with a completion date of 19 November 2023.
4. It had raised the following works, with a completion date of 11 October 2023:
  1. Renew the door and architraves to the wet room.
  2. Remove the washing machine in the kitchen and renew the skirting board behind to extend to the kitchen cupboards.
  3. Level out the worktop above the washing machine and trim the end panel to level this out.
  4. Various kitchen cupboards had loose hinges and the wall unit nearest the internal door had a fixing screw protruding, which was a health and safety concern, so it would check all units and fix where required.
  5. Investigate and rectify a lack of hot water pressure to the kitchen sink.
  6. Remove redundant data/alarm cables from the cupboard in the resident’s daughter’s bedroom and make good the holes.
  7. Redecorate the hallway, painting the ceilings and woodwork white, and the walls magnolia.
5. It had agreed to redecorate the hallway as a gesture of goodwill and by way of apology for its service failures.
The resident asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 on 13 October 2023, as the landlord had not completed the works.
The landlord acknowledged the escalation request on 25 October 2023 and issued a stage 2 response on 23 November 2023; the key points were as follows:
1. It had raised several repairs with its contractor, which had been unable to complete works within agreed timescales due to an influx of orders and resourcing issues. Due to the number of overdue jobs, it was considering appointing a new contractor and would monitor the delivery of works during any transition period.
2. From 27 November 2023, it would start the works detailed in its stage 1 response.
3. It would upgrade the storage heaters to electric heating after Christmas 2024.
4. It offered £150 as a gesture of goodwill for the delays and inconvenience experienced.
5. It apologised for the issues raised and inconvenience caused.
6. The resident could contact this Service if she remained unhappy.
The resident referred her complaint to us on 13 December 2023. The complaint became one that we could consider on 10 June 2024.

Events Post Internal Complaints Process

The resident continued to complain about outstanding and new repair issues. On 2 July 2025, she told us that, except for the heating, all repairs remained outstanding.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

Paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme states we may not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the member as a formal complaint within a reasonable period. Taking this into account and the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment has focused on the period from 8 February 2023, which is when the resident reported issues that led to her complaint, up to the landlord’s stage 2 response dated 23 November 2023. If the resident is unhappy with the landlord’s response to more recent reports, she can raise these as a new complaint to the landlord. If she remains dissatisfied with its final response to her new complaint, she may be able to refer the matter to us to investigate as a separate complaint. Reference to historical and more recent events is to provide context only.
The resident says this complaint has impacted the physical health of the household. We cannot conclude the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is outside our jurisdiction, but consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience that may have been caused to the resident.

Policies and procedures

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System, prepared in consideration of the Housing Act 2004, states drain openings should be sealed with an effective, watertight seal.
The landlord’s damp, mould and condensation policy says it will take a zero-tolerance approach to damp.
The landlord’s compensation policy defines compensation as recompense for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by a resident as a direct result of its actions or failure to act.
The landlord’s repairs policy says it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 5 working days and routine repairs within 20 working days.

Landlord’s handling of reports of repairs

On 8 February 2023, the resident reported that she could not use the wet room because of an issue with the tiles due to damp, but the landlord did not respond. The landlord’s damp, mould and condensation policy says it will speak to the tenant to try to identify any possible causes when it receives a report of damp. Where the cause is not immediately obvious, it will arrange a visit to determine the cause and seek to resolve the immediate issue. That the landlord did not do this is a failing, which likely caused the resident inconvenience.
On 28 February 2023, the resident reported that she had no hot water, but the landlord took no action. Its failure to act was not appropriate and prompted the resident to contact it again on 10 March 2023. She said she had been bathing her 3 young children in a bucket due to a lack of hot water, at which point the landlord raised an urgent repair. It then attended on 14 March 2023 to restore the hot water, which was 5 working days outside its published timeframe for urgent repairs. This was not appropriate in the circumstances. A landlord needs to ensure it raises repair requests at the earliest opportunity to ensure it completes repairs within its published timescales. The landlord’s delay in completing the repair likely caused the resident distress and further inconvenience.
When reporting the hot water issue, the resident also raised concerns about her children’s safety due to the condition of the kitchen cupboards. She said she had tried to secure the cupboards, which were falling off the hinges. However, the landlord took no action. We would have expected the landlord to visit to assess the situation and decide what steps it needed to take to resolve the issue. Not doing so showed a lack of concern for the safety of the resident’s children.
On 18 April 2023, the resident pursued the repairs that she had previously reported. She said poor workmanship in the wet room as well as a leak from the drain in the wet room floor had caused damage to the hallway and mould on the hallway floor. However, it was not until 10 days later that the landlord raised an urgent repair to reseal the drain, which it completed on 3 May 2023. The length of time taken to resolve the leak exceeded its urgent repairs timeframe by 5 working days, which was not reasonable.
Having previously told the landlord that she could not use the wet room due to an issue with the tiles, the resident said she needed a shower on the ground floor because mobility issues prevented her from getting to the bathroom upstairs. However, the landlord, again, did not take any action to address this. It failed to appropriately consider how not being able to use the wet room impacted the resident.
The landlord visited to complete a tenancy audit on 5 June 2023 and, again, noted repair issues and mould in the wet room. It appropriately raised repairs with its contractor on 6 June 2023, and again on 12 July 2023. The landlord was aware that water was getting under the wet room flooring and into the hallway, with a large amount of damp under the hallway flooring. However, there is no evidence that the contractor took any action. This highlights a lack of effective communication between the landlord and its contractor. A landlord needs to ensure it has a robust and effective system to track and monitor repairs. This was also a further missed opportunity for the landlord raise the necessary works regarding the damp reported and consider whether it needed to provide any temporary solutions, such as dehumidifiers, in line with its damp, mould and condensation policy.
The landlord’s lack of action prompted the resident to visit its office on 15 August 2023 and raise a formal complaint on 17 August 2023. By this time, it had failed to respond to the resident’s reports of various repairs on 4 occasions over a period of more than 6 months. This was not reasonable and no doubt caused the resident distress and inconvenience. It also showed a lack of empathy for her and her family, who were living with issues that were affecting the enjoyment of their home.
When responding to the resident’s complaint at stage 1, the landlord said it had visited on 12 September 2023. However, it has not provided any evidence of this, which indicates an issue with its record keeping.
The landlord raised 8 repairs on 13 September 2023. It told the resident on 18 September 2023 that it would complete 7 of these, including redecorating the hallway by way of apology for its service failures, by 11 October 2023. However, it failed to complete any of the works, which was not in line with its repairs policy. This prompted the resident to escalate her complaint on 13 October 2023 and likely caused her further inconvenience and distress.
It was not until 6 and 8 November 2023 that the landlord pursued the repairs with its contractor. This delay was not appropriate given that this was outside its published repair timescales and, again, highlights a lack of effective communication between the landlord and its contractor.
In its stage 2 response on 23 November 2023, the landlord recommitted to completing the repairs that it set out in its stage 1 response. It appropriately agreed to redecorate the hallway due to the damage caused by its failure to reseal the wet room floor drain in a timely manner.
The landlord also offered £150 compensation for delays and inconvenience experienced. However, it is a shortcoming in its complaint handling that it did not contact the resident to consider reimbursing electricity costs incurred for using a dehumidifier to dry out the wet room and hallway because of the leak from the wet room floor drain. The landlord should also have set out its position in relation to the damaged hallway flooring. That it did not do so was not reasonable.
The landlord’s failings will have had a significant impact on the resident over a prolonged period. Taking into account the above, we consider there was maladministration regarding its handling of repairs and an order has been made for remedy.
When responding to our request for information, the landlord said it had terminated its contract with the contractor due to poor performance and was in the process of appointing a new one. It said it would also undertake an information and data strategy review. Therefore, it has not been necessary to make a further order on this matter.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s handling of reports of repairs.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must:
1. Provide a written apology for distress caused by the failings identified.
2. Contact the resident to establish whether there are any outstanding repair issues from those detailed in its letter dated 23 November 2023 and, if so, agree a timebound action plan aimed at resolving them. It should also include consideration of the damp and mould reported and any damage caused due to the leak in the wet room.
3. Pay compensation totalling £850, comprised as follows:
  1. The £150 offered on 23 November 2023 for the delays and inconvenience experienced, if it has not already done so.
  2. A further £700 for the distress caused by the failings identified.
The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders within the timeframe set out above.

Recommendation

The landlord should consider whether it is appropriate to reimburse the resident for the use of a dehumidifier to dry out the wet room and hallway.