London Borough of Hackney (202417345)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202417345

London Borough of Hackney

29 May 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:
1. Concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.
2. Associated complaint.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord at the property, a 2-bedroom ground floor flat. She suffers with respiratory conditions which the landlord was aware of.
The resident told the Ombudsman she had been raising issues about leaks, damp and mould within her property since 2003. She said that in 2013 a contractor told her the balconies above her property did not have a water membrane, and were the most likely cause of water penetration, and damp and mould within her property.

On 31 January 2023 the resident reported there was damp and mould in the front and back bedrooms, and the bathroom within the property. The landlord made an appointment for 4 April 2023, for its surveyor to carry out an inspection of the damp and mould at the property.
On 27 February 2023 the resident raised a complaint about the landlord’s handling of her reports of damp and mould. The resident said she had been making complaints about this issue since 2003. The resident said she had been treating the mould within the property for a number of years. The resident explained she would treat the mould, but it always returned within a few weeks. She also said the mould had damaged her furniture and personal belongings, as well as impacting her health.
The resident said that she believed the balconies above her property needed to be waterproofed as she suspected this was the cause of water penetration, resulting in the damp and mould within her property.
The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 6 March 2023. The landlord said it was unable to look at any historical repair records before 2021 due to experiencing a cyber-attack in October 2020. The landlord brought its damp and mould inspection at the property forward to 14 March 2023. It also referred the resident to its liability insurer, if she wanted to make a claim for any damage caused to her belongings.
On 14 March 2023 the landlord’s surveyor carried out an inspection at the property. The surveyor said the walls were dry and recommended the landlord carry out a dye test to establish if there were any signs of water penetrating into the property.
On 2 May 2023 the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint. She said the landlord had not considered the impact on her physical and mental health, as well as the financial impact of her living with damp and mould in the property.

On 16 May 2023 the landlord carried out a mould wash and applied 2 coats of paint to the 2 bedrooms and the bathroom at the property.
In July 2023 the resident submitted a claim to the landlord’s liability insurer.
Between August 2023 and September 2023, the landlord carried out a visual inspection of the communal walkway above the resident’s property. The surveyor said the visual inspection had not identified any damage that could be linked to the damp and mould within the resident’s property. The landlord’s surveyor reported they had been unable to inspect the front and rear balconies above the resident’s property, due to her neighbour not providing it with access.
Between January 2024 and February 2024:
1. The landlord raised another works order for its surveyor to inspect the balconies above the resident’s property.
2. The resident chased the landlord for it to carry out further works because the damp and mould treatment had not worked. She also chased the landlord about her insurance claim.
3. The liability insurer said it had not been able to resolve the resident’s claim due to the landlord not responding to its previous communications requesting information.
On 15 February 2024, the landlord acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate her complaint about its handling of her concerns about damp and mould within the property.
On 29 April 2024 the landlord provided its final response to the resident’s complaint. It awarded the resident £970 compensation. The landlord said it had carried out an inspection of the damp and mould in the resident’s property on 11 April 2024. It confirmed it had raised and would monitor the following works:
1. A dye test to the front and rear balconies, above the resident’s property.
2. Service the extractor fan in the bathroom.
3. Treatment of the damp and mould within the 2 bedrooms.
The landlord provided its contact details for its liability insurer for the resident to chase her claim directly with its insurance team.
Between October 2024 and November 2024 the landlord raised a job for a damp and mould specialist to assess if the extractor fans in the property were sufficient. It also carried out a further treatment of the damp and mould within the property.
The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to her complaint. She brought her complaint to the Ombudsman stating she still had issues with damp and mould at the property. The resident said there is water dripping through the ceiling in both bedrooms and she fears the ceiling is going to collapse. The resident also said the damp and mould had impacted her breathing difficulties. The resident is seeking for the landlord to resolve the issues of damp and mould within the property. She is also seeking for her liability claim to be resolved, and an increase in compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of these repairs.

Assessment and findings

When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. There are three principles driving effective dispute resolution: Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
The Ombudsman must consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes.

Scope of Investigation

Paragraph 42.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that we may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion were not brought to the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period which would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising.
We have taken into consideration the resident said she had been reporting and making complaints about damp and mould within her property since 2003. She said a number of these complaints were by telephone and there is no record of them. We acknowledge what the resident has said. However, we would be unable to assess the landlord’s handling of any previous reports without being provided with information or evidence about them. Also, as events become historic it can become more difficult for the landlord or the Ombudsman to assess what happened. Landlords are only obliged to keep records regarding information about residents for 6 years (aside from the start date of their tenancy), so it is reasonable that the landlord does not have records dating back further than this.
Therefore, in line with the Scheme we have considered the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about leaks, and damp and mould between February 2022 to its final response provided on 29 April 2024.
As part of her complaint, the resident has said that her health has been affected by the presence of damp and mould within her home. We acknowledge what the resident has said. It is widely accepted that damp and mould can be damaging to health, particularly for those who are vulnerable. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s remit to establish whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and the specific health conditions of the resident. Matters of liability for damage to health are better suited to a court or liability insurance process to determine. We have considered the distress and inconvenience the resident experienced as a result of any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her health.

Policies and procedures

The landlord’s repairs policy states that its repairs fall into 4 categories. 2 of these categories are:
1. Urgent – This is where the repair does not cause a danger, but it needs to be put right to prevent inconvenience and to keep the property in a reasonable condition. It states that where follow up works are required; an appointment will be arranged to complete the repair. These types of repairs include where a surveyor’s appointment is required following a report of damp and mould. The landlord states it will attend within 5 working days.
2. Normal – The landlord states it will attend any normal repair within 21 working days.
The landlord has set up an action plan in its response to damp and mould. This includes that it will inspect all reports of damp and mould within 5 working days.
The landlord has a 2-stage complaints process. It will provide its written response at stage 1 within 10 working days. It will provide a resident with an explanation within 5 working days if it requires more time to respond to a resident’s complaint at stage 1. The landlord will then provide its written response at stage 2 within 20 working days.

The resident’s concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.

On 31 January 2023, the resident reported there was damp and mould within the 2 bedrooms, and the bathroom within the property. The landlord arranged for an appointment to inspect the damp and mould 45 working days later, on 4 April 2023. The landlord should have arranged to inspect the damp and mould within the resident’s property within 5 working days. This was because the landlord’s repairs policy states that reports of damp and mould will be treated as an urgent repair and will be responded to within 5 working days.

In the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response on 6 March 2023, the landlord arranged for an earlier appointment on 14 March 2023, for it to carry out the inspection of the damp and mould in the resident’s property. It was positive the landlord communicated with the resident and brought the inspection forward. However, it still took the landlord 30 working days to carry out this inspection. We understand this delay caused the resident distress as she was trying to resolve the issue of having damp and mould within her property.
In the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response, the landlord advised the resident that she could contact its liability insurer if she wanted to make a claim if she believed that the damage to her belongings had happened due to its negligence in handling her concerns about the damp and mould. The Ombudsman’s role is to assess the actions of the landlord, and we would therefore not comment on the likely outcome of such an insurance claim if one is made. This is because the insurer is a separate organisation from the landlord and the landlord is not responsible for its actions. However, it was appropriate the landlord communicated that this option was available to the resident. Landlords are entitled to use liability insurance as a means of managing such claims and the landlord would not be expected to pay for the resident’s possessions itself, outside the insurance process.
The resident submitted her claim to the landlord’s third-party liability insurer on 13 July 2023. We have seen correspondence from February 2024 where the insurer said it had been unable to resolve the resident’s claim because the landlord had failed to respond to its request for information about the damp and mould in the resident’s property between September 2023 and November 2023. We would have expected the landlord to provide the information requested within 10 working days. We have seen no evidence the landlord has provided the relevant information requested by the insurer. We also understand that this claim remains unresolved 22 months later. This is a significant delay which we understand will have added to the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident who has continued to chase the outcome of her liability claim.

Therefore, we will make an order the landlord carries out a review of the information requested by its insurer. The landlord should ensure that it has responded to all queries raised by its insurer regarding the resident’s liability claim. The landlord is to then provide an update to the resident on her claim within 28 days of this report confirming the next steps.
On 14 March 2023, the landlord’s surveyor inspected the property. The landlord raised a works order in April 2023 to carry out a mould wash and paint the affected areas in the 2 bedrooms, and the bathroom. The landlord completed these works on 16 May 2023. This was 42 working days after the landlord had carried out its inspection. This would have been considered to be a normal repair in line with the landlord’s repairs policy. Therefore the landlord should have completed these works within 21 working days. Overall, the landlord took 72 working days after the resident raised this repair for it to carry out a treatment for the damp and mould within her property. This is evidence of the landlord’s poor handling of its repairs.
During the landlord’s visit to the resident’s property on 16 May 2023, it said there was no ventilation in the resident’s bathroom. The landlord raised a job to inspect this issue. 11 months later the landlord arranged for its surveyor to service the extractor fans in April 2024. The landlord then arranged for a damp and mould specialist to visit the property in November 2024 to assess if the extractor fans within the resident’s property were sufficient. We have not been provided with any information showing these works have been completed. The landlord should have carried out these works as a normal repair, in line with its repairs policy. Therefore, we will make an order that the landlord carries out an assessment of the extractor fans within the resident’s property within 28 days of this report.
During the landlord’s inspection of the resident’s property on 14 March 2023, the surveyor recommended for the landlord to carry out a dye test to establish if there was water penetration into the property. These works also included inspecting a communal walkway, and her neighbour’s balconies which were above the resident’s front and back bedrooms.
We have seen records that show between 1 August 2023 and 21 September 2023, the landlord said the resident’s neighbour had not provided access for it to inspect the balconies above the resident’s property on 3 separate occasions. The surveyor reported they had carried out a visual inspection of the communal walkway and said there was no damage to the pavement slabs or the asphalt. The landlord then closed the works order. This was not an appropriate response because it had not carried out its recommended inspection of the balconies, and the resident had communicated with the landlord during this time that its earlier damp and mould treatment had not been effective, and she had water dripping through the ceilings in both bedrooms.
The landlord has confirmed the resident’s neighbour above is its tenant. Therefore, the landlord should have followed its no access procedure. The landlord should have also taken legal advice in respect of obtaining an injunction to access her neighbour’s property in order to carry out the inspection of the balconies. This was because the landlord needed to identify if the balcony was the cause of the water penetrating the resident’s property and causing the damp and mould. We understand that under the circumstances, the landlord would not have been able to complete the inspection, and any follow-on works in line with its timescales within its repairs policy and it may have taken a long time. However, it should have communicated with the resident about what it was doing, whilst it continued to seek access to her neighbour’s property.
Between January 2024 and April 2024, the landlord raised 3 further works orders for it to carry out an inspection and a dye test to the 2 balconies above the resident’s property. These jobs were closed with its operative reporting they had been unable to access the neighbour’s property. Whilst it was appropriate the landlord continued to make attempts to carry out these inspections, it should have sought legal advice by this time and commenced its no access procedure as referred to above, in order to carry out these recommended works.

On 20 February 2024 the landlord raised an ‘urgent’ inspection of the damp and mould within the resident’s property. It arranged an appointment 9 working days later on 4 March 2024, which it failed to attend. We have seen no evidence the landlord communicated with the resident about having to cancel this visit. The appointment was also not booked within its timescales of 5 working days to attend an ‘urgent’ repair, as per the landlord’s repairs policy. This is evidence of poor communication as we would expect a landlord to make appointments in line with its repairs policy, whilst also keeping residents updated when it is unable to attend its scheduled appointments.
In the landlord’s final response to the resident’s complaint on 29 April 2024, it said its contractor had been unable to carry out repairs relating to the damp and mould because the resident had not responded to the contractor. The landlord said its contractor had tried to contact the resident between 19 January 2024 and 14 February 2024, to access the property. The resident has said that she has responded to all requests for the landlord and its contractors to access her property. We have not been provided with any evidence that shows the landlord had been unable to contact the resident or access her property during that time. Correspondence we have seen evidence there was communication between both parties in February 2024. If the landlord’s contractor had been unable to contact the resident, the landlord should have brought this to the attention of the resident in its communication before closing the repair and recording this as not being given access.
We will make an order for the landlord to arrange for an independent damp and mould specialist to carry out a survey of the leaks, and damp and mould in the resident’s property. This survey is to include:
1. The 2 bedrooms and bathroom within the resident’s property.
2. The communal walkway above the resident’s property.
3. The 2 balconies in the neighbour’s property above, which are above the resident’s front and back bedrooms.

The landlord is then to set out a schedule of works for which it is responsible, including timescales, which it is to share with the resident and the Ombudsman.
The landlord awarded the resident £900 compensation within its final response for this aspect of her complaint. We have considered our own remedies guidance (published on our website) in respect of compensation. This amount awarded by the landlord is within the range of compensation we would have issued in this case if the landlord had not made this offer. Examples of this level of compensation in the guidance include where the landlord has made errors which had a significant impact on the resident over a prolonged period of time. Therefore we will not issue any further compensation in respect of this aspect of the resident’s complaint.
However, the landlord has failed to carry out a proportionate investigation into the damp and mould within the resident’s property. The repairs also remain outstanding with the resident stating she still has leaks coming through the ceilings in both bedrooms. Therefore, for the reasons described above, the Ombudsman makes a finding of maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the resident’s concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within her property.

The resident’s associated complaint.

On 27 February 2023 the resident raised a complaint to the landlord about its handling of her concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint the same day and provided its stage 1 complaint response 5 working days later, on 6 March 2023. This was reasonable as it was in line with its complaints policy which states the landlord will provide its stage 1 complaint response within 10 working days.
The resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint on 2 May 2023. She then repeated her request for the landlord to escalate her complaint to stage 2 9 months later, on 12 February 2024. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate her complaint on 15 February 2024. This was 202 working days after the resident first requested the landlord escalate her complaint.
This was a significant delay which we understand caused additional distress to the resident. We would expect a landlord to acknowledge a stage 2 complaint within 5 working days, in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (which sets out our service’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling).
The landlord provided its final response to the resident’s complaint on 29 April 2024. This was 51 working days later. Records show the landlord communicated with the resident that it needed to extend its response twice in March 2024. The landlord said this was because it was waiting to carry out a survey of the damp and mould. We would expect a landlord to provide a stage 2 complaint response within 20 working days, in line with the Code. Where the landlord may need further time to respond to a resident’s complaint, this should not exceed a further 20 working days without a good reason.
It was reasonable when the landlord initially communicated its decision to extend its stage 2 complaint response on 7 March 2024. This was because its survey had already been arranged within this initial extension period. Records show the landlord was unable to complete this survey due to it not being able to access the resident’s neighbours’ property. The landlord said it needed more time to carry out the survey and then it would respond to the resident’s stage 2 complaint. The landlord should have provided its final response after its initial extension. We do not consider a landlord carrying out a survey to be a good reason to extend its complaint response beyond 40 working days. The landlord could have issued its final response and explained in this response that it would issue a further response once the survey had been completed. This would have allowed the resident to progress the complaint to the Ombudsman without unnecessary delay.
The overall delays in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint were significant. We understand the delays will have caused distress and inconvenience to the resident who had been waiting for over a year by that time for her complaint to be resolved.

In the landlord’s final response to the resident’s complaint it said it had considered the resident had requested to escalate her complaint on 12 February 2024. We have seen correspondence which evidence the resident escalated her complaint in May 2023 as referred to above. We have also seen correspondence in February 2024 where the landlord accepted and apologised for this delay. Therefore, the landlord should have assessed its failing to respond to her initial request to escalate her complaint in its final written response.
For the reasons described above, the Ombudsman makes a finding of maladministration for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
The landlord awarded the resident £70 compensation in its final response to this aspect of the resident’s complaint on 29 April 2024. It is positive the landlord attempted to put things right, but we do not consider that the landlord went far enough. Therefore, in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance as referred to above we will increase this to £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its significant delay in its handling of this aspect of the resident’s complaint. The landlord’s offer of £70 can be deducted from the total of £200 compensation, if it has already been paid.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the:
1. Concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.
2. Associated complaint.

Orders

The landlord is to apologise to the resident in writing. The apology is to be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance that it acknowledges the maladministration and expresses a sincere regret for its handling of the resident’s:
1. Concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.
2. Associated complaint.
The landlord is to pay the resident the £970 it awarded her in its stage 2 complaint response unless this has already been paid.
The landlord is to pay the resident a compensation payment of £200 for its errors in its handling of the resident’s associated complaint. This includes the £70 it awarded in its stage 2 complaint which it may deduct from the total if this has already been paid.
The landlord is to carry out a review of the information requested by its insurer as part of the resident’s liability claim. The landlord should ensure that it has responded to all of the queries raised by its insurer. The landlord is to then provide an update to the resident on her claim, confirming the next steps.
The landlord is to share evidence with the Ombudsman confirming that it has complied with the above orders within 28 days of the date of this report.
The landlord is to arrange for an independent damp and mould specialist to carry out a survey of the leaks, and damp and mould in the resident’s property. This survey is to include:
1. The 2 bedrooms and bathroom within the resident’s property.
2. An assessment of the suitability of the current extractor fans within the resident’s property.
3. The communal walkway above the resident’s property.
4. The 2 balconies in the neighbour’s property above, which are above the resident’s front and back bedrooms.
The landlord should ensure it follows its no access procedure and seeks legal advice in respect of accessing the resident’s neighbours’ property above. This is to be completed within 6 weeks of the date of this report.

The landlord is then to set out a schedule of works for which it is responsible, including timescales, which it is to share with the resident and the Ombudsman. If follow on works are identified by the inspection, these works are to then be carried out within a reasonable timescale, in line with the landlord’s published timescales and industry best practice.