London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (202322496)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202322496

Hammersmith and Fulham Council

07 April 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:
   1. The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about damage to the resident’s possessions.
   2. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about damp and mould at the property.

Background

2. The resident has a secured tenancy with the landlord. The property is a ground floor, 3–bedroom flat in a multi-purpose build block.
3. On 1 March 2023, the resident reported that she had rising damp and mould at the property. She said this had caused damage to her possessions as well as physical and mental issues to her and her son who had asthma.
4. In its stage 1 complaint response on 15 March 2023, the landlord said it had checked its internal system and did not find any previous reports of damp and mould. Based on the repairs history of the property, it would not be able to offer compensation for damage to the resident’s possessions.
5. On 15 March 2023, the landlord sent an email to its damp and mould team to raise an inspection with the resident.
6. On 9 August 2023, the resident escalated her complaint due to the landlord’s refusal to offer compensation for the damage caused to her possessions. The resident acknowledged the landlord had conducted repairs carried out in early August 2023.
7. In its stage 2 complaint response on 31 August 2023, the landlord reiterated its stage 1 response and advised the resident to make a claim through her contents insurance.
8. The resident was unhappy with the outcome, so bought her complaint to the Ombudsman on 29 September 2023. In recent conversation with the resident she had informed this Service that the smell of damp and mould remains.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

9. In the interests of fairness, the scope of this investigation is limited to the issues raised during the resident’s formal complaint. The landlord’s internal complaints procedure investigated and responded to the resident’s complaint about damage to her possessions caused by the damp and mould reported in her formal complaint. The resident has recently informed the Service that the smell of damp and mould remained following the landlord’s repairs from August 2023. While the resident’s recent concern relates again to damp and mould, there is a considerable time since the landlord’s final response and the completion of the repairs from August 2023. In line with paragraph 42.a. of the Scheme the recent reports will not form part of this investigation. Any new issues that have not been subject to a formal complaint can be addressed directly with the landlord and progressed as a new complaint if required.

The landlord’s response to damage to the resident’s possessions caused by damp and mould at the property

10. The resident’s tenancy agreement advised the resident to take out contents insurance at the start of her tenancy. The tenancy agreement further stated that the landlord is not responsible for damage caused to residents’ possessions.
11. The landlord’s compensation policy stated that it does not cover claims that should be covered by a home contents insurance policy which the tenant is responsible to obtain. This includes damage to belongings, which is standard across the sector.
12. When raising the complaint to the landlord, the resident stated that she had previously reported damp and mould. The landlord responded at stage 1 that it was not made aware of damp and mould issues prior to the resident raising her stage 1 complaint. The Service has not seen any evidence suggesting otherwise. It is the Ombudsman’s opinion that the landlord cannot reasonably be held responsible for repairs it did not have knowledge about.
13. In its complaint responses, the landlord explained clearly why it would not compensate the resident for damage to personal possessions. It also advised the resident to make a claim on via her insurance company as per her tenancy agreement. While these were reasonable advice in these circumstances the landlord should have also advised the resident to contact its liability insurers. There was a dispute of whether the damp and mould was previously reported and as it was not completely clear of who was responsible, assisting the resident or advising her on a claim to its insurer would have been an appropriate step.
14. Following the resident’s complaint to this Service, the landlord reviewed its records and acknowledged that it should have informed the resident that she could make a claim against its liability insurance. It made an offer of £100 compensation directly to the resident for this omission.
15. While the landlord acknowledged this at a later stage, this was following the end of its complaints process. As such, it missed an opportunity to provide resolution and put things right in a timely manner. The Ombudsman determines that there has been a service failure in the landlord’s response to damage to the resident’s possessions caused by damp and mould. Considering our remedies guidance and given the offer was made after its internal complaint’s procedure was complete, the Ombudsman is of the view that a more appropriate level of redress is £150.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould

16. The resident in her stage 1 complaint said that there was severe rising damp in both her and her son’s bedroom which is causing his asthma to worsen. The resident also said that despite cleaning the damp and mould off the walls it returned and had caused damage to personal possessions. While the landlord explained that the reports were not made prior to the resident’s stage 1 complaint, it should have responded to this report in line with its repairs responsibilities.
17. It was appropriate for the landlord to arrange an inspection. On 15 March 2023, the landlord instructed its damp and mould team to contact the resident within 14 days to arrange an appointment for a mould wash and inspection. The landlord’s internal records show that the resident was first contacted on 2 June 2023, which was unreasonable and outside the initial 14–day timeframe.
18. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy sets out the timeframes of planned repairs. These are to be attended within 60 working days. An initial appointment was booked with the resident for 28 June 2023, which is 26 days outside the landlord’s timeframes for planned repairs. The reason for the delay was not clear from the evidence provided and the landlord failed to address this in its stage 2 complaint response.
19. Additionally, the landlord did not address the resident’s concerns regarding her son’s health. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have acknowledged these concerns, provided a plan of action for the works and where necessary considered decant (as per the Ombudsman’s Spotlight Reports on Damp and Mould where we make recommendations for the landlord’s to adopt zero tolerance to damp and mould).
20. The landlord’s repairs log shows that a number of visits were made between June and August 2023 to carry out various remedial works. Some of the works were acknowledged in the resident’s escalation request as completed. However, it is unclear whether all the issues were resolved. Given the resident’s recent reports of smell of damp and mould, if any issues remain unresolved, she may wish to raise a new complaint with the landlord as stated in the scope of investigation.
21. Overall, it was reasonable at stage 2 for the landlord to treat the resident’s reports of damp and mould as a service request given there is no evidence of any reports prior to her complaint. However, she noted the repair issues in her escalation, the damp and mould damage and explained the impact on her and her son’s health. As such, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have responded appropriately by providing clarity on the inspection’s outcome and the action required at stage 2. It did not so. In addition to the delays in the inspection, the Service has not seen evidence of any communication in relation to any planned repairs to the resident. 
22. The Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould (It’s not lifestyle) published October 2021 and follow up report published February 2023 sets out some good practice and a number of recommendations that could be reviewed by the landlord to ensure it takes reasonable steps in diagnosing and remedying damp and mould.

Determination

23. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was a service failure in the landlord’s response to damage to the resident’s possessions caused by damp and mould.
24. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the residents reports of damp and mould at the property.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

25. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to:
    1. Pay the resident a total of £150 (including £100 offered following the end of its process) for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s response to her reports of damage to possessions.
    2. Pay the resident £150 for distress and inconvenience caused by its failures in its handling of her reports of damp and mould.
    3. The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with the above orders within their respective timeframes.

Recommendations

26. The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord:
    1. Contact the resident to gain an understanding of the vulnerabilities of her household and update its records accordingly.
    2. Contact the resident to discuss her current property condition.