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Haringey London Borough Council (202317845)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317845

Haringey London Borough Council

27 June 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:
    1. Handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould as a result of leaks.
    2. Handling of subsequent remedial repairs.
    3. Complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of a 1-bedroom property on the 14th floor of a block of flats. She has lived in the property since 2010. The landlord is the freeholder who manages the building. The resident has disabilities relating to mental health and mobility. There was also a newborn baby in the household.
  2. The resident reported damp in the property to the landlord on 21 February 2022, and a leak from her kitchen sink on 3 March 2022. A damp and mould inspection was completed on 11 May 2022. There was a leak in the property caused by water coming from the flat above on 4 July 2022.
  3. The resident reported a further leak from the kitchen sink on 24 October 2022. There is evidence that the resident reported mould in the property to the landlord in October and November 2022.
  4. On 28 December 2022 the resident reported to the landlord that the kitchen sink unit had become rotten and mouldy as a result of the leaks. The landlord arranged an inspection which was completed in March 2023.
  5. The resident raised a formal complaint on 8 May 2023 while waiting for a new kitchen sink unit to be fitted. The landlord treated this as a stage 2 complaint and sent its response on 3 July 2023. It acknowledged that there had been delays in arranging a replacement sink unit and offered compensation of £322 for the resident’s inconvenience. The replacement kitchen sink unit was fitted on 7 June 2023 and the compensation was paid to the resident on 8 January 2024.
  6. In bringing the complaint to this Service, the resident wanted increased compensation for her distress and inconvenience, for having lived with the damp and mould as a result of leaks for the timescales outlined above.

Assessment and findings

  1. Paragraph 53.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:

“The Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.”

The Ombudsman’s intervention

  1. The resident told us all repairs and works had since been completed. She told us that the landlord delayed paying the compensation and that she had not felt heard. She explained she was seeking an increase in compensation.
  2. We contacted the landlord and provided it with a summary of our understanding of the events. We explained the resident was seeking an increase in the offer of compensation.
  3. The landlord told us it would like to offer the resident £1200 compensation. The resident has informed the Ombudsman that she is satisfied with this as a resolution to her complaint.
  4. The Ombudsman is therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this Service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the resident’s complaints have been resolved with intervention.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should now pay the resident the £1200 compensation within 4 weeks of the date of this decision. It should provide us with evidence that it has paid this.