London Borough of Tower Hamlets (202331416)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202331416

Tower Hamlets Homes

10 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
1. Reports of a leak at the property and the subsequent damage caused.
2. The associated complaint.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a 2-bedroom flat on the second floor of a mid-rise block.
On 22 February 2023 the resident reported a leak to his bathroom ceiling. The landlord’s contractor attended the property on 6 March 2023. It said the cause of the leak was likely to be from the flat above. The landlord contacted the leaseholder of the flat above and asked them to repair the leak immediately.
The resident complained to the landlord on 22 April 2023 as the leak had not stopped. He said the leak had caused damp in the bathroom and hallway of his property.
On 5 May 2023 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said the leaseholder had repeatedly denied there was a leak in their property, and they had been asked to supply evidence to confirm this. The landlord also apologised for the delay in locating the source of the leak.
The resident escalated his complaint on 22 August 2023. He said the leak was unresolved and repairs to his bathroom had not been carried out. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 9 November 2023. It said the leak had been traced to a different flat and was repaired on 1 September 2023.
The resident remains dissatisfied and brought the complaint to us. He said he would like the repairs completed to prevent the damp from getting worse.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident has raised other matters with us that have not yet been through the landlord’s complaint process. In the interest of fairness, the scope of this investigation is limited to matters which completed the landlord’s internal complaints procedure on 9 November 2023. This is because the landlord needs to be given a fair opportunity to investigate and respond to any reported dissatisfaction before the involvement of this Service.

Leak and subsequent damage

The resident reported the leak to the landlord on 22 February 2023. He said the leak was coming through his bathroom ceiling. The landlord graded the repair as ‘normal priority’ and its contractor attended on 6 March 2023. The contractor concluded the leak was likely coming from a flat above belonging to a leaseholder (leaseholder 1). The contractor was unable to access the leaseholder’s property.
The landlord’s repairs policy states it will attend normal priority repairs within 20 days. The policy categorises a minor leak (which can be easily contained) as normal priority. The landlord’s initial response was in line with its policy.
On 10 March 2023 the landlord contacted leaseholder 1. It asked them to arrange for repairs to be carried out immediately. On 24 March 2023 leaseholder 1 told the landlord several operatives had attended their property and could not find a leak. They also informed the landlord this was a reoccurring issue, and no leak had ever been found.
The landlord has a leaks procedure, which covers the action it will take if a leaseholder is responsible for a leak. The procedure states the landlord will:
1. Write to the leaseholder within 24 hours notifying them of the work required.
2. Contact the leaseholder to ensure the works have been completed.
3. Request evidence from the leaseholder. If no evidence is provided the landlord will write to the leaseholder and request evidence is submitted within 7 days.
The evidence shows the landlord failed to contact leaseholder 1 within 24 hours in line with its policy. No evidence has been provided to show the landlord followed the repair up with leaseholder 1 during this period. When leaseholder 1 informed the landlord that their own inspections had not found a leak, the landlord failed to request evidence of the inspections.
At this point, the landlord was aware its contractor had not entered the property to confirm the source of the leak. It had also been informed by leaseholder 1 that they were frequently being asked about a leak, which leaseholder 1 said was not coming from their property. It is reasonable to conclude that given this evidence this should have prompted the landlord to carry out further investigation to find the source of the leak. The landlord took no action for the following month.
On 22 April 2023 the resident made a formal complaint to the landlord. He said:
1. The leak had not been resolved.
2. As a result of the leak, he had damp in his property.
3. The contractor who attended his property told him there was also damp behind the bathroom tiles.
Landlords need to make sure their homes are safe, warm, and free from hazards. When a resident reports a risk, the landlord should quickly inspect the property to check for hazards. It must determine if the home is safe and fit to live in. Ignoring hazards can lead to serious consequences for everyone involved.
The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. It was introduced under the Housing Act 2004 and applies to residential properties in England and Wales. This assessment method focuses on the hazards that are present in housing. Tackling these hazards will make housing healthier and safer to live in.
HHSRS identifies damp and mould as a hazard in a residential property. It states that damp and mould can be a threat to health, potentially causing breathing difficulties and asthma.
The resident’s tenancy agreement states the landlord will repair the structure of the property. The landlord does not have a published damp and mould procedure. Its repairs policy states it will complete routine repairs within 20 working days. The evidence shows the landlord failed to take action to inspect the damp at the property.
On 5 May 2023 the landlord contacted leaseholder 1 again and asked them to arrange for another plumber to attend their property to investigate the leak. On the same day, it issued its stage 1 complaint response. The landlord apologised for the delays in identifying the source of the leak. It said it had asked leaseholder 1 to arrange for another plumber to attend, and it would update the resident once this had been completed. The landlord’s response did not address the damp caused to the resident’s property.
On 15 May 2023 leaseholder 1 provided the landlord with a report from the plumbers visit. The report confirmed there was no leak found with their property. Following this there is a gap in the evidence. It is unclear what action the landlord took to identify where the leak was coming from and when.
The resident has told us the landlord attended his property in June 2023 to inspect the affected area. He said the landlord touched the bathroom ceiling with a finger which caused a hole to appear due to the water damage. The resident said the landlord took damp readings from the property and commented the bathroom area was “very damp”. The landlord has been unable to provide details of this visit.
On 28 July 2023 the landlord contacted the leaseholder of another flat (leaseholder 2) regarding the leak. It asked them to appoint a contractor to resolve the leak “quickly” or it would escalate the matter. The leak was eventually identified and subsequently repaired on 1 September 2023 following delays outside of the landlord’s control.
When the resident escalated his complaint, he said the repairs to damage caused by the leak remained outstanding. The landlord’s stage 2 response dated 9 November 2023, failed to comment on any repairs caused by the leak. It apologised for the delay in tracing the source of the leak. The landlord said leaks are not always located “where it is visible” and this can sometimes add delay and diagnosis to tracing the source of the leak.
The landlord’s response failed to acknowledge any fault on its part for the delays. It also failed again to mention how it would deal with the damp and damage in the resident’s property, after the leak had been resolved, in line with its obligations in the tenancy agreement.
The resident has told us the landlord has made no attempt to address the damp in his property or repair the ceiling in the bathroom. He states the smell of damp has increased over time and he finds this concerning. The resident also said he reached the point where he stopped asking the landlord to take action. The resident’s refusal to make further reports is indicative of a loss of trust in the landlord’s ability to provide its services. It also suggests a breakdown in the landlord / tenant relationship.
In summary, the landlord’s failure to follow its leaks procedure and request evidence earlier from leaseholder 1, delayed finding the source of the leak. The landlord failed to take the appropriate steps in accordance with its procedure to investigate the source of the leak in March 2024, following contact with leaseholder 1. The landlord’s subsequent failure to acknowledge and address the damp and damage caused by the leak was a breach of its responsibilities and unreasonable. This has caused the resident to still be living with those issues over 2 years later.
It was important for the landlord to locate and repair the source of the water ingress, to prevent further problems arising within the resident’s property. A catalogue of poor communications, misdiagnosis, and delays have resulted in the repair not being completed for over 6 months after it was first reported.
Had an effective investigation into the source of the leak been completed sooner, it is likely to have minimised the length of time taken to repair the issue, reduced the damage sustained to the resident’s property and greatly reduced the distress and inconvenience he suffered.
The above failings and delays lead to a determination of maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the leak and subsequent damage. An order has been made for the landlord to pay £800 to the resident for time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused. This is in line with our remedies guidance for failings which have significantly affected the resident and the landlord has made no attempt to put things right.

Complaint handling

The landlord operates a 2 stage complaints process. Its complaints policy sets out the timescales in which it will deal with complaints:
1. It will acknowledge and record a complaint within 48 hours.
2. It will issue its stage 1 response within 10 working days from when the complaint was recorded.
3. It will acknowledge escalation requests within 48 hours.
4. It will issue its stage 2 response within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint.
The resident made his formal complaint on 22 April 2023. The landlord acknowledged his complaint by phone 4 days later. Paragraph 4.1 of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (2022) (the Code) in place at the time states a complaint must be acknowledged and recorded within five working days of receipt. Although outside of its policy timescales, the landlord responded in line with the Code.
The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 5 May 2023. This was 8 working days after the complaint had been recorded, in line with its policy.
The resident escalated his complaint on 22 August 2023. There is no evidence the landlord acknowledged the resident’s request. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 9 November 2023, 67 working days after the resident escalated his complaint. The landlord apologised for the delay in issuing its response.
Paragraph 5.14 of the Code (2022) states if an extension of more than 10 working days is required to complete the stage 2 response, both parties should agree this. However, there is no evidence the landlord informed the resident of the delays it was experiencing or agreed an extension with him.
Both complaint responses failed to address to the damp and damage caused by the leak. Paragraph 1.9 of the Code (2022) states if a landlord decides not to accept a complaint, a detailed explanation must be provided to the resident setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process.
Furthermore, paragraph 5.6 of the Code (2022) states landlords must address all points raised in a complaint. The landlord’s failure to address this aspect of the resident’s complaint at both stages was unreasonable. The failure to address a key aspect of the resident’s substantive complaint undermined the purpose of the landlord’s complaints process. This will have significantly damaged the resident’s confidence in the landlord’s ability to handle his complaint diligently and fairly.
The landlord’s failure to acknowledge the resident’s escalation request and the delay in issuing the stage 2 response was unreasonable. The landlord’s failure to address the resident’s full complaint was significant. This leads to a determination of maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. An order has been made for the landlord to pay £250 compensation to the resident for the time and trouble caused.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the leak and subsequent damage.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
1. Provide the resident with a written apology for the failings identified in this report.
2. Pay directly to the resident £1,050 compensation, made up of:
  1. £800 for its failings in handling the leak and subsequent damage.
  2. £250 for its failings in complaint handling.
3. Appoint a suitably qualified surveyor to carry out an inspection of the property to identify the repairs that need to be completed following the leak, in particular the damp and damage to the bathroom ceiling. The landlord must ensure that the surveyor provides a full report to it, including photographs and a scope of any works identified, within 10 working days of the date of the inspection. The landlord must provide the resident and us with a copy of the report within 5 working days of receipt.
4. Following receipt of the inspection report (survey), the landlord must ensure any works required are commenced within 28 days of the date it receives the report. The landlord must, within 9 weeks of the date of this determination, provide evidence that it has commenced the works or provide reasons and evidence as to why it has not / cannot start the work within these timescales, together with amended start times. If no works are identified, the landlord must provide the resident with meaningful and relevant advice as to how she can best manage the issue and provide us with a copy of the email or telephone transcript in which that advice is given.
The landlord should reply to us with evidence of compliance with the orders in the timescales set out above.