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London Borough of Ealing (202231142)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202231142

London Borough of Ealing

25 July 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 complaint is about the landlord’s:
    1. Handling of reported damp and mould at the property.
    2.  Handling of the resident’s request to be rehomed

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the property, a one-bedroom ground floor flat. She has lived at the property since 2007 and currently lives with her partner and 2 children. The landlord has told this Service it is not aware of any vulnerabilities.
  2. The resident has experienced damp and mould within the property since 2016. On 22 January 2021, the resident’s solicitor sent a Letter of Claim to the landlord for disrepair, stating the resident had made a formal complaint in November 2019, but the issue remained unresolved. The resident’s legal representative requested disclosure from the landlord and an agreement to conduct an inspection of the property.
  3. On 25 February 2021, the resident’s solicitor wrote to the landlord again, and stated that as the landlord had not responded, they were going to proceed with the instruction of a single expert to conduct the inspection. This was completed on 22 March 2021. The solicitor provided the landlord with a schedule of work needed to address the damp and mould throughout the property.
  4. On 29 October 2021, the resident agreed to settle her claim against the landlord. The landlord agreed to pay £4,869.15 to the resident in full and final settlement for the claim and damages, plus any reasonable costs incurred. The landlord also agreed to undertake the necessary works with 90 days.
  5. The resident contacted this Service on 17 March 2023 and stated she had complained to the landlord about damp and mould in property and she had not received a response. She wanted the landlord to deal with the outstanding issues and compensate her for loss of personal belongings. The resident did not disclose that the complaint was from 2019 or that she had instructed a legal representative.
  6. On 11 May 2023, the landlord had completed all work that had been agreed with the resident’s legal representative and a post inspection report was completed.
  7. The resident contacted this Service again on 22 May 2023 to further complain that she had received no response from the landlord. While the resident mentioned she had contacted a solicitor, she stated that she had not taken the matter to court. This Service informed the landlord that the resident was seeking to be moved due to the damp and mould issues and asked the landlord to provide a stage 1 complaint response.
  8. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 27 June 2023. It stated that a disrepair case had been raised due to the damp and mould issues she had reported, and the work had been conducted while she stayed at the property as was agreed between the parties. The landlord said that a final inspection of the work would be arranged but it was unable to offer compensation. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint.
  9. It is unclear whether the resident escalated her complaint directly with the landlord. However, following contact with the resident, this Service asked the landlord to provide a stage 2 complaint response on 19 September 2023.
  10. In its stage 2 complaint response, dated 25 October 2023, the landlord stated that all repairs had been completed, and since a final inspection of the property on 9 June 2023, the resident had not made any further reports of damp and mould. It stated that as the issues had been rectified, there was no requirement to move her. The landlord offered the resident £100 in compensation for the time the repairs had taken and the trouble she had experienced making her complaint.

Assessment and findings

Jurisdiction

  1. What the Ombudsman can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). When a complaint is brought to this Service, the Ombudsman must consider all the circumstances of the case, as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. The resident’s legal representative served a Letter of Claim on the landlord regarding the damp and mould issues, which resulted in the resident making a pre–court settlement. Paragraph 42 (e) of the Scheme states the Ombudsman may not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings.
  3. This aspect of the complaint is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because this was subject to a legal settlement made between the landlord and the resident via her solicitors. If the resident wishes to pursue these aspects of her complaint the Ombudsman advises her to seek legal advice from a solicitor, or legal advice service.

The resident’s request to be rehomed

  1. The resident complained of damp and mould issues in November 2019, and this was dealt with through her solicitor. On 22 May 2023, the repairs were completed, and a final inspection was conducted.
  2. The landlord was first made aware of the resident’s current complaint when it was contacted by this Service on 25 May 2023, which regarded the damp and mould issue. The landlord was informed that to resolve the complaint the resident had requested:
    1. For the landlord to rehouse them.
    2. For the issues to be rectified, and repairs carried out.
  3. With no other indication of a complaint from the resident, the landlord responded to the complaint that had initially been made in 2019. The landlord stated it assumed the resident was asking to be moved while the repairs were conducted. In its stage 1 complaint response dated 27 June 2023, the landlord stated, “it was agreed that you could remain in situ whilst the remedial works were completed.”
  4. However, in its stage 2 response dated 25 October 2023, the landlord acknowledged that the resident had requested to be moved because of the damp and mould problems she had experienced. The landlord’s post work inspections on 11 May 2023 and 9 June 2023 confirmed the damp and mould issues which were the subject of the resident’s settled disrepair claim, had been rectified. The landlord also noted that following the inspections, the resident had not reported any further problems or made any other complaints about the presence of damp and mould in the property. The landlord concluded the matter had been rectified as per the parties pre court settlement. As such, the landlord signposted the resident to explore the available housing options open to her through its neighbourhood housing team.
  5. The landlord’s repair policy stated that, when necessary, it would decant residents from their homes to undertake disruptive and intrusive repairs. The evidence shows the parties agreed that the resident would remain in the property during the required works, that all subsequent repairs have been completed, and the resident has not reported any further issues with damp and mould.
  6. The landlord acted appropriately and in accordance with its repair policy by not moving the resident at her agreement and it is reasonable that it has not taken any subsequent action to rehome the resident for any damp and mould reason that previously existed. It is appropriate for the landlord to signpost the resident to its neighbourhood housing team to advise the resident through the options available to her to apply to be rehomed if she wishes to move to another property.
  7. There was no maladministration by the landlord in relation to this complaint point.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 42 (e) of the Scheme, the complaint relating to the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request to move.

Recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is recommended to contact the resident and ensure she is fully informed of the housing options available to her.