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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202344800)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202344800

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

25 October 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:
    1. Response to reports of damp and mould and the associated works.
    2. Response to reports of damage to belongings.
    3. Complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The landlord is a housing association and the property is a 3-bedroom house. The landlord has vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.

Summary of events

  1. The resident raised her complaint on 4 April 2023. She told the landlord that she noticed mould at the property immediately after moving into it in October 2022. She said:
    1. Kitchen cabinets and drawers smelt of mould and the kitchen walls had mould. Items in the kitchen had been damaged by mould. Mould was in the living room, bedrooms and bathroom causing further damage to her belongings.
    2. Mould wash was not addressing the root cause of the issue. The cleaning products used lingered in the property making it difficult to breath, especially in bedrooms.
    3. Mould was impacting her physical health and that of her family’s. She explained that her mental health had deteriorated and it was upsetting to deal with damage to her belongings. She told it her living conditions were not fair on her and her family.
    4. It should instruct a damp surveyor to investigate the root cause of the issues. The kitchen ventilation could be improved with the installation of an extractor fan.
    5. She wanted compensation for her damaged belongings and provided it with photographs.
  2. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 6 April 2023. It upheld the resident’s complaint and said:
    1. She first reported damp and mould on 30 November 2022. Its contractor completed a mould wash and advised no further work was required.
    2. She reported damp and mould on 6 March 2023. It raised a work order but was unable to confirm if its contractor attended, it asked the resident to confirm if it had.
    3. It apologised that the issue had not been resolved and said it would arrange an inspection of the property.
    4. In response to damage to personal belongings. It advised the resident to claim off her contents insurance. If the resident did not have content insurance she should write to its insurance team providing information about damaged items. It would treat such submissions as a public liability claim and its insurer would decide if it was legally at fault.
  3. The resident escalated her complaint on 6 December 2023 and told the landlord that it had not completed repairs. Work orders were raised for fans in April 2023 but had not been installed. It did not advise her on a leak detection report and had not completed recommended work to external walls. She told it how it booked several appointments, but did not attend or notify her of cancellations. She said there was a “significant” amount of black mould in her bathroom and her son had developed a cough which she believed was due to exposure to mould. She asked the landlord to install fans, repair exterior walls, provide a timeframe for works and contact her if appointments needed to be rearranged.
  4. The landlord acknowledged the escalated complaint on 13 December 2023 and issued it stage 2 response on 13 May 2024. It said:
    1. The resident had reported black mould in her bathroom and that her son had developed a cough. It apologised for what the family had endured and said it had booked in a mould wash.
    2. It raised a leak and damp detection job in April 2023 and its report found that there were no internal leaks. The cause of mould and condensation issues were potentially rainwater ingress and low air ventilation. It recommended a building surveyor was appointed to instruct works to prevent water ingress through general improvements of external fabric and improve the internal humidity air circulation.
    3. The extractor fan in the bathroom needed replacing and it would install a fan in the kitchen. It passed the fan work to its contractor and noted the contractor cancelled appointments causing the resident distress and inconvenience. It apologised for the “unprofessional” approach. It said the contractor marked work to the fans as complete but this was not the case. It advised the resident to complain directly to the contractor, but she declined to speak to the contractor and the work order was closed.
    4. A different contractor completed some work for an extractor fan on 10 January 2023 and its initial contractor completed the installation of the fan on 9 January 2024. It said its attempts to contact the resident to discuss the complaint had been unsuccessful and asked her to let it know if there were ongoing issues with the extractor fan.
    5. Due to the missed appointments, delay in repairs and the distress and inconvenience caused it offered the resident £200 in compensation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has told the landlord, and this Service, of concerns about her family’s health. In particular, she has mentioned her sons struggles with breathing issues, shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain. She has provided a letter from her doctor which states they believe the medical issues are “directly related to the presence of mould” in the property.
  2. The Ombudsman sympathises with the resident and her family. It is understandable that they have concerns about the impact of their living conditions on their health. It is important to explain that this Service cannot establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider the personal injury aspects of the resident’s complaint. There matters are likely better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury claim.
  3. However, the Ombudsman will give consideration to the general impact of the living conditions on the resident and consider what the landlord did when it was informed of health concerns.

Response to reports of damp and mould and the associated works

  1. The evidence shows that the landlord was aware of mould issues at the property from November 2022 onwards. It appropriately completed mould washes on 30 November 2022 and March 2023.
  2. However, between November and April 2023, the landlord’s contractor repeatedly told it that a damp survey was required and its health homes report from December 2022 told it about excessive moisture and visible mould at the property. Despite what the landlord knew and what the resident told it about the condition of the property and her health concerns, it took the landlord 6 months (until 25 April 2023) to conduct a leak detection test for the property. This timeframe was not appropriate.
  3. The leak detection test found that there was a damp sewage smell coming from areas within the property and that mould and condensation issues were on external walls in every room. It found the cause of mould and condensation issues were potentially rainwater ingress and low air ventilation. It recommended:
    1. a building surveyor instruct work for general improvement of external fabric
    2. a specialist company conducts improvement work to the internal air circulation.
  4. It is unclear if the landlord instructed a building surveyor for the external work required to the property. This Service has not been provided with a copy of a building surveyors report. However, it is noted that the landlord completed some work to external parts of the property after its stage 2 response, in September 2024. This timeframe was not appropriate and it remains unclear if the landlord completed work it should have to resolve the damp and mould issue at the property.
  5. In relation to internal works, the landlord raised works for the installation of a kitchen fan and replacement of a bathroom fan in April 2023. It took the landlord until 4 January 2024 to complete this work. This timeframe was not appropriate and significantly exceeded the 20 working day timeframe mentioned in its repairs policy.
  6. It is noted that between April 2023 and January 2024, the landlord’s contractor made a number of appointments with the resident to complete work to the fans. However, it rearranged some appointments or did not attend appointments during this time. In August 2023 its contractor incorrectly said the fan work had been completed when it had not, which meant the resident had to provide picture evidence of this. Despite what the landlord knew about the condition of the property it failed to appropriately monitor the works or progress them within a reasonable time. The landlord’s handling of work to the external building and fans would have exacerbated an already upsetting situation for the resident.
  7. Overall, the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould at the property was not appropriate. It was repeatedly told of the worsening condition of the property and failed to progress work in line with its policy or demonstrate a zero tolerance approach to damp and mould. While it completed some mould washes, it did not monitor the potential hazard, it did not act quick when completing work and did not offer any support to help ease the resident’s living conditions during this time. The landlord has not provided evidence to show it completed a damp survey, a building survey, or that the issue has since been resolved. It did this while the resident repeatedly told it about the impact the living conditions were having on her and the concerns about the health of her family. The landlord’s failings would have had a significant impact on the resident and amount to severe maladministration.
  8. Within the landlord’s stage 2 response it offered the resident £200 compensation. While it recognised its service fell short its offer of £200 compensation did not go far enough to recognise the scale of its failings. A greater compensation amount has been decided as more appropriate in the circumstances. When deciding an appropriate remedy, this Service’s remedy guidance has been considered along with the scale of the damp and mould issues “in every room” and the impact this would have had on the resident’s enjoyment of her home for a prolonged period of time. Consideration has also been given to the mould washes the landlord completed. However, when considering the landlord’s repeated failings for around 17 months and that it remains unclear if it has resolved the damp and mould issue, a rental based compensation of 20% has been decided as appropriate in these circumstances. The landlord has confirmed the weekly rent was £164.82, 20% of this is £32.96.
  9. When deciding an appropriate timeframe for compensation, the 17 months (75 weeks) between 30 November 2022 and the landlord’s stage 2 response from 13 May 2024 has been decided as a reasonable timeframe in these circumstances. £32.96 multiplied by 75 weeks equals £2,472.30 in rental compensation to acknowledge the loss of enjoyment of the resident’s home. It is important to explain that this calculation is not exact and as such, the Ombudsman has made a further order for compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused.

Response to reports of damage to belongings

  1. The resident repeatedly told the landlord about the damage caused to her belongings due to the damp and mould at the property. Within its stage 1 response the landlord advised the resident to claim off her contents insurance and if she did not have this she should contact its insurance team directly for its insurer to decide if it was at fault. The landlord’s response was in line with its compensation policy and there was no maladministration.
  2. The resident has said she has not submitted a claim because she no longer has receipts for damaged items. The Ombudsman has made a recommendation for the landlord to contact the resident to discuss this and provide her with support in submitting such a claim.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process on 6 December 2023 and it took 5 months, until May 2024, to issues its stage 2 response. This timeframe was not appropriate and exceeded the timeframe set within the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
  2. The landlord’s delayed stage 2 response meant the resident had to repeatedly contact it about the worsening conditions of the property and ask it to respond to her complaint. This would have caused the resident further frustration with the landlord’s service as it did not keep her updated on its approach to work and had not started some work at that time. The landlord also missed opportunities to acknowledge its delay in issuing its stage 2 response or keep the resident updated. When considering the above, the landlord’s stage 2 response delay amounts to maladministration.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould and the associated works.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to reports of damage to belongings.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to, within 4 weeks of the date of this report, arrange for its Chief Executive, or appropriate equivalent, apologise to the resident for the failings identified within this report. This should be in writing and a copy of the apology should be provided to this Service.
  2. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay the resident a total of £3,272.30 compensation within 4 weeks of the date of this report. Compensation should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against any arrears:
    1. £2,472.30 rental based compensation for the loss of enjoyment of the home due to the landlord’s handling of damp and mould works.
    2. £600 for the distress, inconvenience, time and trouble caused by the failings relating to damp and mould and the associated works. This amount includes the £200 it previously offered.
    3. £200 for its complaint handling failings.
  3. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to, within 4 weeks of the date of this report, arrange an inspection of the property to assess its internal and external condition in relation to damp and mould issues at the property. An appropriately qualified specialist should conduct the inspection(s). Within 2 weeks of the inspection(s), the landlord should provide a copy of its survey report to this Service and the resident. It should confirm in writing:
    1. The work required to the property to address the damp and mould issue, if any. It should explain what work is required, its planned approach to the work and provide a schedule of work including timeframes for completion.
    2. The measures it will put in place to monitor if the work it completes, if any, resolve the damp and mould issue.
    3. The action it will take to alleviate the resident’s living conditions while it carries out remedial work, if relevant.
  4. In accordance with paragraph 54g of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord is to provide the Ombudsman with a review conducted by a senior manager. This should be within 12 weeks of the date of this report. The review should include (but is not limited to):
    1. An exploration of why the failings identified within this report occurred, with consideration to the vulnerabilities of the resident and her family.
    2. Following the review, the landlord should produce a report setting out:
      1. The findings and learning from its review.
      2. Recommendations on how it intends to prevent similar failings from occurring in the future, which it has not already identified as part of its work on the Ombudsman’s 2023 special report.
    3. The landlord should provide a copy of its report to its governing body and member responsible for complaints for scrutiny, if appointed. It should agree how it will provide oversight of the implementations of any recommendation made following the review.
    4. The landlord should provide a copy of its report to the Ombudsman.

Recommendation

  1. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord contact the resident to provide her with support, if required, in submitting a claim to its insurer for damaged belongings.