Applications are open to join the next Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel – find out more Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel.

Halton Housing (202313880)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202313880

Halton Housing

14 February 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:
    1. repairs to the property including reports about damp and mould, ventilation, storage and insulation.
    2. the complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord, which began on 27 July 2020. The landlord is a housing association. The resident lives with her daughter in a 2-bedroom, mid-terraced house. The resident has mental health problems and a physical disability, which the landlord is aware of.
  2. On 20 October 2022, the resident reported that there were no storage cupboards in the property. The landlord visited on 14 November 2022 to assess storage in the kitchen and any other jobs needed. In December 2022, the resident reported mould and condensation around the windows, the house being draughty and that the loft insulation was insufficient. In response, the landlord arranged appointments to complete works.
  3. The resident formally complained to the landlord on 21 March 2023, in which she raised concerns about:
    1. The condition of the house when they moved into the property and the treatment received.
    2. Other issues going back to the start of the tenancy.
    3. Failed appointments.
    4. Gas bills increasing due to the landlord’s failings.
    5. The impact of these issues on her mental health.
  4. The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 24 April 2023, in which it responded to the resident’s concerns and detailed the jobs it had raised. In summary, it said:
    1. It offered one reasonable property to band A homeless applicants.
    2. It apologised for any stress and discomfort caused by visitors’ conduct when attending the property.
    3. It had addressed the carpets, blockages and the state the property was in when the resident signed the tenancy in a previous complaint, for which the resident accepted compensation.
    4. There were no options for additional storage other than agreed work in the kitchen, for which it did not complete works on 22 March 2023 due to no access but had completed successfully on 3 April 2023.
    5. It did not mean to upset the resident when offering support and that it was sorry for causing the resident to feel uncomfortable or upset by this.
    6. It raised a job to treat damp and mould a few days after the inspection on 8 December 2022 and then raised a job to reseal the windows, which its contractors said the resident declined. The landlord invited the resident to re-book the appointment.
    7. It had arranged to install window vents in the kitchen and an extractor fan in the kitchen window on 6 June 2023. It explained that there was no room to install a 6-inch fan due to central heating pipes being boxed in above the windows.
    8. It upheld the resident’s complaint, acknowledging the undue stress caused by the length of time taken to resolve the kitchen storage issue as well as a bathroom ventilation issue.
    9. It offered £150 in decoration vouchers and asked its welfare team to try to help with the resident’s rising cost of energy bills.
  5. The resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 on 8 May 2023. In summary, the resident said:
    1. No one attended to treat mould on the windows, only on the walls, which was a health risk to the resident and her daughter.
    2. The landlord only provided one more cupboard in the kitchen but still needed to replace the drawers and had not installed any ventilation.
    3. They felt patronised by the landlord reiterating they had been in band A.
    4. No one replaced the vents in the bedrooms.
    5. They did not want an extractor fan in the kitchen window.
    6. They could not use decoration vouchers and that £150 would not compensate all the money spent redecorating.
    7. They had a disability and severe mental health problems and that these issues had caused additional stress.
  6. The landlord acknowledged the escalation request on 9 May 2023 and issued a stage 2 response dated 24 May 2023 that it did not send until 12 July 2023. In summary, following a stage 2 meeting on 18 May 2023, the landlord’s response said:
    1. It was sorry about the impact of the window issues and any confusion caused with its contractor. It said the household’s health was of the utmost importance and confirmed it would inspect all windows in the property on 21 June 2023.
    2. It would install an additional kitchen cupboard and a vent in the kitchen window and decide whether it needed to repair or replace a broken kitchen drawer.
    3. It apologised for making the resident feel patronised when referring to its band A process in its stage 1 response.
    4. It would install 4 open and close style vents – 2 in the main bedroom, 1 in the second bedroom and 1 in the living room.
    5. It would assess the loft insulation and faulty loft hatch to raise the correct works.
    6. It had appointed a single point of contact for the resident, so she did not have to speak to different people.
    7. It upheld the complaint and offered £300 compensation, which it said was to cover 50% of the resident’s costs of purchasing materials to enhance her home.
    8. The resident could contact the Ombudsman if she remained unhappy.
  7. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 17 July 2023. The resident considered £300 ‘insulting’, with various issues unresolved. The complaint became one that this Service could consider on 7 March 2024.

Events Post Internal Complaints Process

  1. On 17 July 2023, the resident replied to the landlord’s stage 2 response to request £500 compensation towards purchases made to enhance their home.
  2. This Service is aware that issues remain outstanding relating to damp and mould, window repairs, ventilation, a broken loft hatch and loft insulation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In her written complaint dated 21 March 2023, the resident referenced the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy in 2020. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner. As the issues become historical, it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body to conduct an effective investigation of the actions taken to address the reported issues. Therefore, considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment will focus on the landlord’s handling of the events between 20 October 2022, when the resident first complained to the landlord and 24 May 2023, when the landlord issued its stage 2 response. Reference to historical and more recent events is to provide context only.
  2. The resident says this complaint has impacted their mental health as well as the physical health of the household. The Ombudsman 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.

Landlord’s obligations, policies and procedures

  1. Clause 2.3.1 of the tenancy details the landlord’s obligations to, ‘keep in repair the structure and exterior of your home’.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states it will complete non-emergency work within 20 working days, or beyond that with the resident’s agreement.
  3. Clause 3.7.1 of the tenancy states the resident, ‘will keep the interior of your home in a clean, hygienic and good condition’.
  4. Clause 2.3 of the landlord’s discretionary compensation policy says it will consider paying compensation when the complainant has suffered loss or inconvenience.
  5. Clause 2.4 of the landlord’s discretionary compensation policy says it will pay £25 compensation for a failed repairs appointment.

Landlord’s handling of repairs to the property including reports about damp and mould, ventilation, storage and insulation

  1. The landlord does not dispute that there were failings in its handling of the resident’s reports. Where the landlord admits failings, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the landlord resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances and offered appropriate redress. In considering this, the Service assesses whether the landlord’s actions were in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
  2. The resident complained informally about a lack of storage cupboards in the property on 20 October 2022. On 14 November 2022, the landlord visited to assess jobs required but it does not appear to have taken any further action, which would likely have caused the resident frustration. The resident then reported in December 2022 and January 2023 that there was mould and condensation around the windows, the property was freezing, and the loft insulation was a mess. The resident told the landlord that mould was growing around the seals on every window in the house and that they had to constantly clean them to prevent the mould from spreading.
  3. This Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould recommends landlords should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould interventions. The landlord doesn’t have a damp and mould policy, but it is in the process of writing one. The resident raised concerns about damp and mould on 8 December 2022 and 17 January 2023, but the landlord did not respond to this until February 2023. The landlord has not provided this Service with evidence of why it waited nearly 2 months to respond to the resident’s damp and mould concerns which is a failing. There is no evidence that the landlord carried out a damp and mould assessment to assess the risk to the resident and her daughter, nor any evidence of consideration of the resident’s vulnerabilities, which we consider are further failings that also appear to highlight issues with the landlord’s record keeping and likely caused the resident distress.
  4. It is vital that landlords keep clear, accurate and easily accessible records to provide an audit trail of events. This helps the Ombudsman to understand the landlord’s actions and decision making at the time. When this Service investigates a complaint, we ask for the landlord’s records. If there is disputed evidence and no audit trail, we may not be able to determine that an action took place or that the landlord acted fairly and in line with its policies. From the evidence available, the Ombudsman cannot conclude that the landlord completed a damp and mould assessment.
  5. The landlord arranged jobs to complete work for the kitchen, windows and ventilation in the property in February 2023 and March 2023. The resident’s stage 1 complaint dated 24 April 2023 listed 4 failed visits due to no one turning up or incorrect jobs raised, plus another visit whereby a contractor had posted a card while she was at home.
  6. The landlord’s discretionary compensation policy says it will pay £25 compensation for a failed repairs appointment. The landlord’s records confirm 4 appointments where it failed to visit in February 2023 and March 2023, as outlined by the resident, yet it did not offer the resident any compensation for the failed visits. The landlord’s records also confirm a plastering job did not go ahead on 13 December 2023 due to the wall vents not being the correct size – the landlord had raised a job for the vents on 2 November 2023 but did not complete this until 12 January 2024, which delayed the plastering job. In line with its policy, we consider that the landlord should pay the resident compensation totalling £125 for 5 failed visits.
  7. Except for a kitchen drawer issue included her stage 2 complaint dated 8 May 2023, the resident reported all issues between October 2022 and January 2023. The landlord’s records indicate that it initially completed work for additional kitchen storage on 3 April 2023. It later raised jobs for the following:
    1. Seal around the loft hatch – Raised on 27 June 2023; not completed
    2. Back bedroom window crank hinge – Raised on 27 June 2023; completed on 18 August 2023
    3. Kitchen cupboard storage (again) and 3 faulty kitchen drawers – Raised on 28 June 2023; completed on 10 July 2023
    4. Fit bedroom wall vents – Raised on 2 November 2023; completed on 12 January 2024
  8. The landlord raised jobs more than one month after completing its stage 2 complaint response on 24 May 2023. It then only completed one job within its repair policy timescale of 20 working days for non-urgent repairs, with 2 jobs delayed and one not completed. The landlord didn’t comply with its repairs policy on at least 3 occasions, which we do not consider reasonable and are failings that likely further inconvenienced the resident.
  9. Following an offer of £300 compensation in the landlord’s stage 2 response, the resident requested £500 compensation, which the landlord agreed to provide. The resident then chased payment of the increased amount on 3 occasions as well as chasing repairs. The resident continued to report an issue with the loft hatch and the landlord failed to follow up on the resident’s concern about damp and mould, which will have likely caused her further distress and inconvenience. Therefore, we have made an order for remedy below.
  10. The landlord provided £500 compensation to reimburse half the resident’s costs in enhancing the property. We consider further compensation appropriate to recognise the adverse impact caused by the landlord’s failings in response to the resident’s reports relating to damp and mould, window repairs, ventilation, loft hatch repairs and loft insulation issues, which all remain outstanding. This is despite the landlord issuing a final complaint response that confirmed the actions it would take to resolve the issues raised. The significant delay in resolving the issues that the resident raised will have no doubt impacted the resident, likely causing distress and inconvenience. The resident would have expected the landlord to take reasonable steps to resolve the issues in a timely manner. Its failure to do this meant the household continued to live in conditions that caused discomfort, notably due to concerns about damp and mould and the property not being well insulated. We consider the repeated failure to resolve the repair issues represents maladministration and we have made an order to award a further £300 in line with the Ombudsman’s remedy guidance.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident logged a formal complaint with the landlord on 21 March 2023.
  2. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have acknowledged the complaint within 5 working days and provided its stage 1 response within 10 working days.
  3. We have not seen any evidence that the landlord acknowledged the complaint. It issued its stage 1 response on 24 April 2023, which was 12 working days outside the required timeframe. We consider the landlord’s lack of acknowledgement of the resident’s complaint and its delay in then responding to the complaint are failings by the landlord, which no doubt inconvenienced the resident.
  4. The resident asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process on 8 May 2023.
  5. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have provided its stage 2 response within 20 working days of the escalation request. The landlord acknowledged the escalation request on 9 May 2023 and both parties attended a stage 2 meeting at the landlord’s office on 18 May 2023. Although the landlord appears to have written its stage 2 response on 24 May 2023, it did not send this to the resident until 12 July 2023 – this was 45 working days after the resident’s escalation request. The landlord has not provided a reason for the delay.
  6. The Ombudsman’s complaint handling code states a landlord should issue a complaint response to a resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when it has completed the outstanding actions required to address the issues. We would have expected the landlord to send its stage 2 response shortly after the stage 2 meeting with the resident. That it did not is a further failing which meant the resident was further inconvenienced when she had to chase the landlord for an update.
  7. The resident twice chased the stage 2 response before their MP contacted the landlord on their behalf on 4 July 2023. The landlord told the MP that this was an open stage 2 complaint. It also told the resident that it had not issued a response due to agreeing to wait until it had completed what it needed to. We have seen no evidence of such an agreement. The lack of evidence of this appears to indicate an issue with the landlord’s record keeping. The landlord’s stage 2 response upheld the resident’s complaint and explained the actions it would take. It also correctly signposted the resident to the Ombudsman if they remained unhappy.
  8. The resident referred their complaint to the Ombudsman on the same day that the landlord sent its stage 2 response. If the landlord had issued its stage 2 response sooner, the resident would not have needed to chase this or ask their MP to do so on their behalf. Not having the stage 2 response also delayed the resident being able to ask our Service to investigate.
  9. We consider the landlord’s failure to acknowledge the initial complaint and its delays in issuing its stage 1 and stage 2 complaint responses represent maladministration and have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £150 compensation to acknowledge the upset and inconvenience caused by this.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s handling of repairs to the property including reports about damp and mould, ventilation, storage and insulation.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must:
    1. Provide a written apology for the failings identified.
    2. Complete a damp and mould assessment and write to the resident to set out its position regarding any works required following the assessment.
    3. Write to the resident to set out its position regarding its assessment of any works required to:
      1. Repair the windows and window seals in the property
      2. Improve ventilation in the property
      3. Repair the loft hatch and improve the loft insulation
    4. Pay compensation totalling £1,075, comprised as follows:
      1. £125 for 5 failed repairs appointments
      2. The £500 offered by the landlord, if it has not already done so
      3. A further £300 for failing to resolve the issues reported
      4. £150 for its complaint handling failures
  2. The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders within the timeframe set out above.