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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202319458)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202319458

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

30 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 handling of the resident’s reports of;
    1. Leaks in the property.
    2. Damp & mould.
  2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The resident lives in the property with her daughter, who suffers with asthma.
  2. On 1 November 2022, the resident reported that there was leak through her kitchen ceiling. The landlord attended the same day and contained the leak. However, on 1 April 2023, the resident reported that water was coming through her kitchen light again due to a leak in the flat upstairs. The landlord attended and contained the leak on 4 April 2023.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 4 April 2023. She said that the leaks had damaged her belongings and left her without electricity in the kitchen. The resident also said that the leak had caused cracks in the wall and ceiling, as well as damp and mould.
  4. The landlord issued a stage one response on 11 April 2023. It confirmed that all repairs had been completed in the property. The landlord also said that it arranged a survey for 18 April 2023 to inspect the reported cracks, damp and mould. With regards to her damaged belongings, the landlord advised the resident that she could make a claim via its insurance and provided details. For distress and inconvenience, the landlord offered £100 compensation.
  5. On 16 April 2023, the resident escalated her complaint following another leak caused by the property above. She did not agree that the landlord had resolved the leak, nor had they acknowledged the significant inconvenience and distress that it had caused.
  6. On 27 April 2023, the resident reported that mould was growing on the ceiling because of the leak. A clean and shield was completed on 16 June 2023. However, the resident reported 2 further leaks in August 2023. Subsequently, the resident raised a further complaint.
  7. Following intervention from this Service, the landlord issued a stage two response on 28 November 2023. The landlord acknowledged that the resident had experienced several leaks in April 2023, which the landlord had attended to and completed the necessary repairs, albeit it had failed to attend one appointment. However, the landlord recognised the time and effort that it had taken the resident to chase repairs and a response to her complaint. It offered £600 compensation, comprised of;
    1. £140 for the distress caused to the resident and her family due to existing health vulnerabilities.
    2. £140 for the inconvenience caused to the resident.
    3. £140 for the resident’s time and effort taken to chase a response to her complaint.
    4. £140 for the landlord’s poor complaint handling.
    5. £40 for the missed appointment in April 2023.
  8. The resident remains dissatisfied because the stage two response did not acknowledge the leaks in November 2022 or August 2023. The resident also said that the compensation offer does not justify the impact that the leaks had on her and her daughter’s health. The resident wants the landlord to replace her kitchen due to extensive damage from the leaks, as well as compensating the resident for damaged appliances, flooring, and carpets.

Assessment and findings

Scope

  1. The resident has said that the leaks, damp and mould in the property had worsened her daughter’s asthma, as well as contributing to her symptoms of long COVID-19.
  2. It is beyond the expertise of the Service to decide on whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions and the resident’s health. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers that her health has been affected by any action or failure by the landlord. While we cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience that the resident may have experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.

Leaks in the property

  1. The landlord operates a repairs policy that states it will complete routine repairs within 25 days. It will attend to emergency repairs that pose a health and safety risk to residents within 24 hours. For emergency works that occur out of hours, the landlord will attend within four hours. The out-of-hours service will ‘make safe’ and lower the immediate risk. Follow-up repairs will then be completed at the earliest mutually convenient appointment.
  2. The resident reported a leak on 1 November 2022 through her kitchen ceiling. The landlord attended on the same day, in line with its obligations to attend to emergency repairs within 24 hours. This was appropriate.
  3. The resident reported a further leak on 1 April 2023 that was impacting her electrics. The resident reported the issue out of hours, and the landlord should have attended within four hours to make safe the electrics. However, the fire brigade attended and made safe the electrics. Nevertheless, the landlord failed to attend until 4 April 2023, missing an appointment that it advised the resident of on 2 April 2023. This was unreasonable and likely caused the resident significant distress and inconvenience.
  4. The resident reported three further leaks; one in April and two in August 2023. On all occasions, the landlord attended on the same day which was appropriate and in line with its policy for emergency repairs.
  5. Regarding the resident’s damaged flooring and property, the landlord advised the resident to pursue a claim via its insurer. While this may have been frustrating for the resident, this was appropriate.
  6. Overall, it is clear that the resident has experienced intermittent leaks due to issues with her upstairs neighbour’s leaking washing machine. The landlord has advised that it has discussed the impact of the leaks with the neighbour and also confirmed that an engineer has now repaired the washing machine, which is reasonable.
  7. Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this the Ombudsman considers whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
  8. The landlord offered the resident a total of £320 compensation for the distress and inconvenience associated with leaks in the property, as well as a missed appointment in April 2023. The compensation was in line with the suggested award in the Ombudsman’s own remedies guidance which suggests a payment between £100 to £600 is appropriate where there has been maladministration. The landlord put things right in respect of its complaint handling failures and its offer of compensation adequately reflected the detriment caused.
  9. As the landlord has already offered this amount, a recommendation has been made for it to make the payment (£320) if it has not already done so. The finding of reasonable redress is dependent on the compensation being paid.

Damp and mould

  1. Landlords must ensure that the accommodation they provide is free from serious hazards, including damp and mould, and that homes are fit for habitation. They must treat cases of damp and mould with the utmost seriousness. Furthermore, the landlord has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), introduced by the Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its rented properties. Damp and mould growth pose a health risk to residents and therefore the landlord is required to consider whether any mould problems in its properties amount to a health hazard that may require prompt remedy.
  2. The landlord introduced its Healthy Homes policy in 2020. This says that when a resident reports damp and mould, the landlord will:
    1. Respond to the resident within 5 working days.
    2. Make a referral to its contractor to assess the property within 20 working days.
    3. The contractor will carry out a “clean and shield”, treating the damp and mould, and making recommendations for follow-up work when needed. Follow-up jobs are then passed to its contractors. Works may include improving ventilation, insulation and windows. The timeframe and duration of the repair will depend on the severity of the issue.
  3. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould (published October 2021) provides recommendations for landlords, including that they should “adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould”. The report also says that landlords “should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue”.
  4. The resident raised issues associated with damp on 4 April 2023. The landlord conducted a survey on 18 April 2023, which was appropriate and in line with its Healthy Homes policy. The evidence associated with that survey is limited and this Service is unable to confirm if any follow-up work was required for damp and mould.
  5. While the absence of the information does not necessarily constitute a service failure in this instance, it makes it difficult to assess whether the landlord’s actions after the survey were appropriate. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Knowledge and Information Management May 2023 said, “If information is not created correctly, it has less integrity and cannot be relied on. This can be either a complete absence of information or inaccurate and partial.” It also highlighted that “creating a detailed record may take time, but it will save a great deal more time and trouble later when it is easily located and referred to when resolving an issue”.
  6. Although this Service acknowledges that the Spotlight Report was published after the date of the resident’s complaint, we recommend that the landlord pays close attention to the report and takes steps to implement relevant recommendations to improve its record keeping.
  7. The resident reported issues with mould on 27 April 2023. The landlord completed a clean and shield on 16 June 2023; 33 working days after the reports of mould. Given that damp and mould pose a significant health risk, and the resident had reported that the mould was falling from the ceiling, this was an unreasonable delay.
  8. The available evidence suggests that the resident made further reports of mould falling from the ceiling in September 2023. Orders were raised with external contractors; however, the landlord has advised that they were cancelled due to not gaining access to the resident’s property. As above, the information is limited regarding the failed accesses, and it is difficult to assess the circumstances and what further actions the landlord took to address the damp and mould.
  9. The landlord’s stage 2 response failed to acknowledge the issues associated with damp and mould, which was inappropriate. The evidence reviewed by this Service also suggests that damp and mould is an ongoing issue in the resident’s property, as a direct result of persistent leaks.
  10. Overall, the landlord has failed to resolve the resident’s damp and mould issues appropriately or promptly, resulting in the resident experiencing ongoing distress, inconvenience, and significant frustration.
  11. This Service has found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and the landlord will be ordered to appropriately compensate the resident for the identified failures. The landlord will also be ordered to contact the resident to establish if damp and mould is still an issue, and to arrange a survey if necessary.

Complaint handling

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (CHC) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for how landlords should handle complaints. The code encourages landlords to adopt a positive complaint handling culture that enables them to resolve disputes, improve the quality of the service it provides to residents and ensure that complaints provide an opportunity for learning and positive improvement.
  2. The landlord operates a two-stage complaints process. The landlord should provide a stage one response within 10 working days of the complaint being raised, and a stage two response within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 4 April 2023. The landlord issued its stage one response on 11 April 2023; 5 working days after the resident raised her complaint. This was reasonable and within the timescales outlined within the CHC and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  4. The landlord’s complaint policy outlines that it would escalate complaints to stage two after it receives a resident’s request. It states that the request must outline why they remain dissatisfied, and what the resident wants as an outcome of the stage two complaint. The resident escalated her complaint on 16 April 2023. Her escalation was a clear expression of dissatisfaction at the landlord’s stage one response.
  5. In accordance with its complaint policy, the landlord should have issued its stage two response on 16 May 2023. The CHC states that any delays in providing a complaint response must not exceed an additional ten working days without good reason.
  6. The landlord failed to escalate the resident’s complaint in accordance with its policy, which was inappropriate and unnecessarily prolonged the complaints process for the resident.
  7. This Service intervened and instructed the landlord to issue a complaint response. It is not expected that this Service should need to intervene to ensure a landlord’s compliance with the CHC, and its own complaint policy. The resident needed to take the time and trouble to bring her complaint to this Service for intervention, which was unreasonable.
  8. The landlord issued its stage two response on 28 November 2023; 159 working days after the resident escalated her complaint. This is significantly beyond the 20 working day timescale expected and was inappropriate. Nevertheless, the landlord apologised for its delay in responding to the resident’s complaint and offered £280 compensation for the delay, as well as the time and effort taken by the resident to resolve her complaint. This was reasonable.
  9. Overall, this Service has seen evidence of maladministration by the landlord. However, the landlord has made appropriate efforts to put things right by offering an apology and compensation.
  10. As the landlord has already offered this amount, a recommendation has been made for it to make the payment (£280) if it has not already done so. The finding of reasonable redress is dependent on the compensation being paid.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress, in respect of its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks in the property, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress, with respect to its associated complaint handling, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord is to pay the resident £100 compensation for the failings identified with the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  2. The landlord should contact the resident and establish if damp and mould is an ongoing issue in the property due to the persistent leaks. If the resident confirms an ongoing problem, the landlord should undertake a survey to establish how best to remedy this. The landlord must confirm in writing that it has done this.
  3. The landlord must provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.

Recommendations

  1. If it has not already done so, the landlord should pay the £600 compensation already offered to the resident.