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London Borough of Harrow (202346881)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202346881

London Borough of Harrow

24 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 leaks, damp and mould.
  2. The Ombudsman has also assessed the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, a local authority. Her tenancy at the property began on 13 September 2021. The property is a 1 bedroom ground floor flat within sheltered accommodation for older people. The resident lives with incontinence and mobility issues.
  2. The resident says that in June 2022 she reported a leak into the wet room of the property from the flat above. The landlord’s records show that it first logged a repair for this on 8 August 2022.
  3. The resident made a complaint to the landlord on 3 November 2023. She complained about its lack of action to address the leak since she had first reported it. She said that it had caused damage to her wet room ceiling, which had partially collapsed, and now spread to her bedroom. She said water was dripping from the wet room ceiling which had become a slip hazard and had also caused her bathroom light to stop working. Due to this, the resident said she was no longer able to safely use her wet room and was reliant on the communal toilets in the building and “quick wipe downs” in place of a shower.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 26 November 2023. It advised that it had inspected the flat above and found an issue in the wet room. It said it had raised a repair to its contractor to investigate further and resolve the issue. The landlord said it had also raised a repair to install a new light in the resident’s wet room.
  5. The resident asked to escalate her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process on 10 January 2024. She asked the landlord to provide an exact date by which the repairs would be completed. She said that the new sensor light, which the landlord had fitted in her bathroom, switched off after “a very short period of time” meaning she was having to shower and use the toilet in darkness. The resident also reported damp and mould in the bathroom caused by the leak. She asked the landlord to provide her with a dehumidifier and carry out weekly mould treatments until it had resolved the leak.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 8 February 2024. It said that it was “disappointed” with how long the issue had remained unresolved and apologised for any distress this had caused. The landlord said that its specialist contractor was arranging work to the flat above. It said once this was completed it would provide the resident with a dehumidifier and arrange mould treatment.

Events since landlord’s stage 2 complaint response

  1. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 24 March 2024. She expressed dissatisfaction that the landlord had still not carried out repairs to the flat above or to her wet room and had not addressed the damp and mould.
  2. Emails between the resident and the landlord indicate that the landlord’s contractor began work in the flat above on or around 26 March 2024. The landlord has said that these were completed in April 2024.

Assessment and findings

Leaks, damp and mould

  1. In her complaint to the landlord, the resident said that she first noticed the leak in June 2022. She described reporting this to the ‘warden’ (on site member of landlord staff) who inspected the damage and raised a repair request. She mentioned at least 2 other occasions shortly after this when she discussed the issue with the warden again. However, the landlord’s repair logs show no evidence of it raising a repair until 8 August 2022. The resident also said that the warden did not record the matter in their ‘office logs’ or provide her with a repair reference number. Based upon this, we conclude that the landlord’s warden failed to appropriately report the leak to its repairs team.
  2. It is unclear from the landlord’s repair logs who reported the leak to it on 8 August 2022. The landlord’s repairs contractor attended the flat above on the same day. It found the cause of the leak to be the wet room flooring. The landlord raised a works order for the contractor to supply a quote to renew the flooring. The landlord’s repair logs state that it approved the quote on 28 October 2022. However, it is unclear if and when any work was carried out.
  3. On 17 November 2022, the landlord raised a repair to redecorate the resident’s wet room ceiling. The repair notes said that the wet room flooring in the flat above had been replaced and the leak had stopped. However, on 24 November 2022, the landlord recalled its repairs contractor to the flat above the resident’s as the leak was still ongoing. The repair to redecorate the resident’s ceiling was subsequently cancelled.
  4. The contractor attended on 28 November 2022. It sent a report to the landlord which we have not been provided with a copy of. However, on 1 December 2022, the landlord raised a works order for an ‘environmental clean’ of the flat above the resident’s. Its notes said “room in unfit state to carry out repairs. Cleaning required in order to renew flooring”. Based upon this we conclude that the landlord had not renewed the flooring or resolved the leak, as its notes on the 17 November 2022 repair asserted.
  5. The landlord has not provided any records of events between December 2022 and February 2023. The resident’s complaint also did not mention any specific events within this period.
  6. Between 17 February and 10 August 2023, the landlord raised several repairs for the resident’s wet room ceiling and light. It is unclear from the landlord’s records which if any of these were completed.
  7. On 5 September 2023, the landlord logged a new repair after the resident reported that the flat above’s wet room continued to leak into hers every time her neighbour used it. The landlord’s repairs contractor attended the flat above on the same day. On 7 September 2023, the landlord logged a repair for its contractor to seal the wet room floor there. This appears to have been based upon feedback from its contractor’s earlier visit. This repair was marked as completed on 20 September 2023.
  8. The landlord raised a works order on 21 September 2023 for its contractor to visit resident and check that the leak had been resolved. The contractor attended that same day but was unable to contact the resident. The landlord raised a second works order for this on 22 September 2023. This is marked as having been completed on 3 October 2023, but there are no notes to indicate what happened. In her complaint on 3 November 2023, the resident said that she “recently come home from hospital after a prolonged stay due to severe illness”. It is therefore possible she was in hospital at this time.
  9. It is evident that the leak was not resolved as the resident made her complaint about it a month later. Following this, the landlord raised a new works order on 13 November 2023 to renew the wet room flooring of the flat above. On 23 November 2023 it also raised a repair to move the resident’s bathroom light from the ceiling to the wall – which was not affected by the leak.
  10. In its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord failed to review its previous handling of the leak. It provided only details of the repairs it had now raised. Our dispute resolution principles require landlords to be fair, put things right and learn from complaints. By not reflecting upon the preceding events, the landlord failed to follow these principles and did not carry out an appropriate investigation of the resident’s complaint.
  11. The stage 1 response also failed to address how and when the landlord would complete repairs to the resident’s wet room ceiling – despite her informing it that this had partially collapsed, and she felt “scared to use” the room. Within its response, the landlord said it had visited the resident and inspected the leak on 23 November 2023 however it has not provided any evidence that it assessed the room as safe to use or reassured the resident of this.
  12. The resident asked to escalate her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s process on 10 January 2024. At this time, repairs to the wet room of the flat above had still not been completed. On 11 January 2024, the landlord told the resident it had received a quote from its contractor to carry out these works. On 28 January 2024 it told her that it had now approved the quote.
  13. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 8 February 2024. It said it was “very disappointed with the time this has remained unresolved.” However, as with its stage 1 response, the landlord failed to reflect upon the events which had led to the delays or follow the dispute resolution principles.
  14. The resident also complained that the newly installed bathroom light operated on a motion sensor and switched off after only a brief period. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord appropriately said it would arrange to inspect the light and check the setting. Its repair logs indicate that it did this at some point prior to 26 February 2024 and repaired the light on 5 March 2024 – almost 2 months after the resident reported it when escalating her complaint.
  15. The resident first reported damp and mould appearing in the wet room to the landlord on 17 November 2023. She expressed concerns that her health was “deteriorating” due to this. The landlord failed to comment on the matter in its stage 1 complaint response. Nor did it act upon the report.
  16. When escalating her complaint, the resident had asked the landlord to supply her with a dehumidifier and arrange for weekly mould treatments in her wet room. She explained that she was unable to clean the mould herself due to her mobility issues. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord said it would provide her with a dehumidifier and arrange mould treatment in her wet room once it had completed repairs to the flat above.
  17. The Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould recommends that “landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue.” At the point of the landlord’s stage 2 response, the resident had been living with damp and mould for almost 3 months, with the landlord aware of this and failing to act. It was then a further 6 weeks until the landlord started works in the flat above. This did not reflect such urgency, despite the resident voicing concerns about her health.
  18. Whilst we understand that the damp and mould would inevitably persist until the underlying cause was resolved, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to take steps to address it as best it could. Particularly considering to the fact the resident had explained to it that she was unable to wash down the mould herself due to her mobility issues.
  19. The resident has described a high level of distress and inconvenience due to feeling unable to use her wet room because of the leak damage. On 24 March 2024, she told us “I have to choose between showering in the dark, and risk slipping or something falling on me, or having to try and clean myself with a cloth which is difficult for someone with limited mobility”. She said she had to use the communal toilets in the building, which she struggled to reach in time due to her mobility issues and incontinence. She described “chunks of the ceiling having fallen down on me whilst I was in the bathroom” as well as the “considerable distress and anxiety this matter has caused me”.
  20. In summary, the landlord delayed unreasonably in carrying out repairs to the wet room of the property above. This meant the resident lived with a leak into her own wet room for almost 2 years and associated damp and mould for at least 6 months. These failings are aggravated by the resident’s vulnerabilities and the fact that she felt unable to safely use the wet room for a period of time. Whilst the landlord acknowledged the delays in resolving the issue, it failed to appropriately investigate these or make any offer of redress for the high level of distress and inconvenience caused. The Ombudsman makes a finding of maladministration.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident made her complaint on 1 November 2023 using the landlord’s online complaint form. However, her complaint letter did not attach to the form. The landlord appropriately contacted her on 3 November 2023 and the resident sent the letter over to it the same day.
  2. The landlord’s complaints policy says that it will provide its stage 1 complaint response within 10 working days of acknowledging a complaint. It provided its stage 1 complaint response on 26 November 2023 – 16 working days later. There is no evidence the landlord told the resident its response would be delayed or agreed an extension to the timescale with her. It failed to acknowledge or apologise for this delay within the response itself.
  3. In her complaint letter, the resident told the landlord that “I have also had a separate issue with my toilet, which keeps getting blocked and does not flush.” The landlord failed to include this in its complaint definition or comment upon it at all in the stage 1 response.
  4. The Ombudsman’s complaint handling code says that “landlords must address all points raised in the complaint” and that “if any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification and the full definition agreed between both parties.” The landlord failed to comply with these requirements. There is no evidence within its records of it raising a repair for the resident’s toilet since the date of her complaint.
  5. In summary, the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response was delayed, and it failed to acknowledge or apologise for this. It also failed to consider the resident’s complaint in full by not addressing the “separate issue” of her toilet, which appears to remain unresolved. The Ombudsman makes a finding of maladministration.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of leaks, damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 5 weeks of the date of this determination, we order the landlord to:
    1. Pay the resident compensation of £1,150 composed of:
      1. £1,000 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the leaks, damp and mould.
      2. £150 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling.
    2. Apologise to the resident for its maladministration identified by this investigation.
    3. Contact the resident to establish if she is still experiencing issues with blockages in her toilet and raise any repairs/inspections required.
    4. Carry out a case review of this complaint including, but not limited to:
      1. The process for its wardens in sheltered accommodation reporting repairs on behalf of residents and whether they require further training on this.
      2. The cause of the delays in repairing the wet room in the flat above the resident.
      3. Its handling of the resident’s concerns about being unable to safely use her wet room.
      4. Its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould in her wet room.
      5. Its consideration of the resident’s known vulnerabilities.
  2. The landlord should provide evidence of its compliance with these orders to us.