London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202408396)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202408396

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

31 January 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 the resident’s:
1. Concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.
2. Reports of repairs to the balcony, the bathroom ceiling, and the boiler at the property.
3. Associated complaint.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord at the property, a 1-bedroom, second floor flat. The resident suffers with asthma, and a diagnosed mental health condition. The landlord is aware of the resident’s conditions and her vulnerability.
Between November 2022 and December 2022 the resident reported that the ceiling in her kitchen was bulging. The landlord raised a repair which included asking its contractor to check for leaks in the roof of the building. It also assessed the resident’s property, and the roof for signs of damp and mould. In January 2023 the landlord installed a new roof to the resident’s building and provided the resident with a dehumidifier to address the levels of moisture within the property.
Between April 2023 and May 2023 the resident reported the following repairs:
1. The resident’s balcony outside the flat was defective and had been allowing water to enter the property.
2. There was a leak coming from a downpipe.
During this period, the landlord completed a repair of the leaking downpipe. The landlord also arranged for its contractor to inspect the defective balcony at the resident’s property. On 28 April 2023 the contractor then submitted a quotation to the landlord for the follow-on works, so it could complete the repairs to the resident’s balcony.
In July 2023 the resident reported that she had damp and mould in the kitchen of her property. The landlord carried out an inspection during this period. The landlord’s healthy homes team did not identify any works that needed to be completed at the resident’s property, at that time.
Between October 2023 and November 2023 the resident reported that the ceiling in her bathroom had a crack in it. She also said that the boiler was not working properly, and she was without hot water. During this time the landlord repaired the bathroom ceiling. Its contractor missed an appointment to carry out an inspection and repair the boiler at the resident’s property. This resulted in the resident being without hot water and heating for a number of weeks during this period.
On 16 November 2023 the resident to the landlord about its handling of a number of outstanding repairs at her property. These included the following:
1. There was moisture in the walls of her property. The resident said that this had meant she had been unable to decorate the walls within her property. She explained that the landlord’s damp and mould surveyor had previously visited her property on a number of occasions, but the problem had, and the landlord was not taking any action to resolve the problem.
2. Its contractor had changed the date of her appointment for repairing the boiler. The contractor was then late when it did attend to the repair. The landlord had also not provided her with any other heating solution whilst the boiler was not working.
3. The balcony at the property was still letting in water and the landlord had not carried out any works since she reported the repair in April 2023.
4. The ceiling in her bedroom was like a sponge after the landlord had changed the felt as part of the installation of the new roof. The landlord had not completed any follow-on works to address this issue.
The resident said that the above repairs were affecting her health. She also said that she was spending a lot of money on heating her property, but it remained freezing.
Between November 2023 and December 2023 the landlord completed the following works at the resident’s property:
1. Its surveyor carried out an inspection of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. Its contractor repaired the boiler.
3. It completed the outstanding works to the resident’s balcony.
On 11 January 2024 the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident’s complaints. It apologised for its delays in addressing some of the repairs raised by the resident, and for its delay in responding to her complaint. The landlord explained that its damp and mould survey had not identified any mould within the resident’s property. It explained the works its contractors had carried out. The landlord said it had previously issued the resident £250 compensation for its delay in repairing her boiler. It also apologised that its contractor had missed an appointment during this repair. The landlord said that it had not been previously made aware of the resident suffering from high energy bills. It asked her to provide evidence of how much energy she was using and that it would refer the matter to its energy team to investigate. The landlord awarded the resident £605 compensation.
The same day, the resident told the landlord that she was unhappy with its response and requested it escalate her complaint.
In February 2024 the landlord’s building surveyor carried out an inspection of the resident’s property. The surveyor confirmed that the walls were dry and there was no presence of damp and mould within the resident’s property. During its inspection, the surveyor identified that there was damage to the resident’s bedroom ceiling and raised a repair. During this same period the landlord’s contractors cancelled its pre-arranged appointment to inspect the roof of the building for any signs of disrepair.
On 14 February 2024 the landlord provided its final response to the resident’s complaints. The landlord said it had found no historical signs of damp and mould in her property. The landlord said that if the resident had further issues in the warmer months as she had previously described, then she should report this, and its reactive maintenance service would carry out a further inspection.
The landlord also said it had completed the following in its final response to the resident’s complaints:
1. Raised a repair to inspect the extractor fans as part of its assessment of the ventilation in the resident’s property.
2. Arranged for the guttering and downpipes of the building to be cleared.
3. Its contractor had attended the resident’s property on 30 December 2023 and reported that the heating and hot water in the property was working.
4. The landlord had completed the outstanding works to the resident’s balcony.
The landlord apologised to the resident and increased its award of compensation to £970. The landlord explained that the breakdown of its compensation was as follows:
1. £600 for the distress and inconvenience caused, and its failure to recognise the impact due to the resident’s vulnerabilities.
2. £140 for its handling of the resident’s complaint.
3. £50 for its service failure.
4. £180 for its delays in handling the repair of the resident’s balcony.
The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to her complaints. She brought her complaint to the Ombudsman stating that she wanted the landlord to resolve the cause of the moisture to the walls within her property. The resident also wanted an increase in the level of compensation for the landlord’s handling of these repairs.

Assessment and findings

When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. There are three principles driving effective dispute resolution: Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
The Ombudsman must consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes.’
As part of her complaint, the resident has said that her health has been affected by the outstanding repairs, and the presence of damp and mould within her property. It is widely accepted that damp and mould can be damaging to health, particularly for those who are vulnerable. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s remit to establish whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and the specific health conditions of the resident or her family. Matters of liability for damage to health are better suited to a court or liability insurance process to determine.

This is in line with paragraph 42.f. of the Scheme which says the Ombudsman may not consider matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable, or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, other tribunal, or procedure. The Ombudsman has considered the general risk posed by the damp and mould, any distress and inconvenience the resident experienced as a result of any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her health.
Paragraph 42.a. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s [landlord’s] complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint-handling failure, and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member has not taken action within a reasonable timescale.
The Ombudsman has seen evidence that following the landlord’s final response on 14 February 2024, that there were further delays in repairs relating to the resident’s reports of moisture within the walls of her property. This related to repairs to the roof and guttering of the building. The Ombudsman understands that this will have caused the resident further distress and inconvenience. We are also aware that the landlord has issued more compensation in relation to these incidents.
However, there is no evidence to show that the resident has raised a complaint to the landlord about the incidents after 14 February 2024, or that the landlord has formally responded to this as a complaint. If the resident wishes to pursue a complaint about her concerns about the landlord’s handling of these repairs after its final response on 14 February 2024, she should contact the landlord to raise a new complaint. This is because the landlord needs to have the opportunity to consider the resident’s complaint before the Ombudsman assesses it. If the landlord is then unable to resolve matters to her satisfaction through its complaints process, she may be able to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman for investigation at that stage once she has received the landlord’s final response to her concerns.
Therefore in line with the Scheme, the Ombudsman has considered the resident’s complaints as referred to above, from November 2022 until the landlord’s final response to her complaints on 14 February 2024.

The resident’s concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.

The landlord’s repairs policy states that it is responsible for the walls, roofs, drains, gutters, and external pipes. The landlord is also responsible for resolving penetrative and rising damp, as well as repairs relating to condensation and mould in its properties, via its healthy homes programme.
The landlord’s damp and mould policy states that it will complete any repairs related to damp and mould in line with its repairs policy. The landlord will carry out an assessment of damp and mould within 20 working days of it being reported by the resident. It will then raise any works within a further 10 working days of this assessment. The landlord states that it may require multiple fixes to treat the damp and mould within the property. It will be clear with residents about timescales in completing the repairs and will keep residents updated throughout.
Between November 2022 and January 2023 the resident reported that the ceiling in her kitchen was bulging. During this period the landlord carried out an inspection for leaks, damp, and mould to the roof of the building. Records reviewed by the Ombudsman show that the landlord installed a new roof to the resident’s building and provided the resident with a dehumidifier for her property. This was a reasonable response by the landlord as it investigated the possible cause of the repair to the resident’s kitchen ceiling. Replacing the roof of the resident’s building would have been considered as a significant repair and therefore the timescale for carrying this out was appropriate.
On 20 April 2023 the resident reported a leak from the downpipe. She chased this repair in May 2023. The landlord’s records show that its contractor repaired this leak 33 days later, on 22 May 2023. This would have been considered a routine repair and should have been completed within 28 days in line with industry best practice. Although this delay was not significant, the resident who is vulnerable had to chase the landlord for it to carry out this repair. This is evidence of poor communication.
In July 2023 the resident reported damp and mould within the property. Records reviewed by the Ombudsman show that the landlord visited the resident’s property and reported that there was no requirement for it to take action at that time. The resident has said the landlord agreed to monitor the moisture within the walls of her property. This was a reasonable response by the landlord at that time because it said it had not identified any repairs but would continue to respond to the resident’s reports if there was further evidence of damp and mould within her property.
On 16 November 2023, the resident raised a complaint about the landlord’s handling of the leaks, and the damp and mould within her property. She explained that she had been unable to decorate the walls within her property due to the moisture within them. The resident said the landlord had not checked to monitor the moisture levels within her walls as it had previously agreed to. The Ombudsman acknowledges the resident’s comment that she had moisture within the walls of her property between July 2023 and November 2023 and understands that this will have affected her.
However, the Ombudsman has not seen any evidence that the resident told the landlord about these further concerns during this period. Therefore it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have assumed that there was no issue with damp and mould within the resident’s property at that time. Therefore the landlord cannot be responsible for any delays in addressing the damp and mould within the resident’s property between July 2023 and November 2023.
On 30 November 2023 the landlord’s healthy homes team carried out a damp and mould survey within the resident’s property. It also carried out an inspection of the external roof, gutters, and downpipes which it said were in a good or satisfactory condition. This was 11 working days after the resident had raised her concerns about the damp and mould in her property. This was a reasonable response and in line with its damp and mould policy which states it will carry out such an inspection within 20 working days as referred to above.
Records reviewed by the Ombudsman show that the landlord’s contractor failed to attend an arranged appointment on 5 February 2024 to visit the resident’s property. This was so its contractors could carry out an inspection of the roof of the building due to the resident’s on-going reports of moisture in the walls of her property. That same day, the landlord apologised and awarded the resident a £40 voucher in recognition of this missed appointment. It was not reasonable for the landlord’s contractor to cancel this appointment without notice. The resident had waited all day for the contractor to attend and she has informed the Ombudsman that this had caused her distress and inconvenience. It was appropriate that the landlord apologised and provided the resident with this level of compensation for the missed appointment. This was because the landlord’s actions were in line with its compensation policy which states it will award £20 compensation where it fails to keep an appointment without at least 24 hours’ notice.
On 6 February 2024 the landlord carried out a further inspection of the resident’s property. This was after she requested it escalate her complaint. The surveyor said that the walls within the resident’s property were dry. They identified that the gutters were full of debris, and it raised a repair for these to be cleared. The gutters were cleared 44 days later, on 20 March 2024. It was appropriate that the landlord continued to communicate with the resident’s concerns about the damp and mould in her property. However, the landlord should have completed the clearing of the gutters within 28 days as per industry best practice. This is because this would be considered as a routine repair. Although this delay was not excessive, this in addition to the missed appointments, and other delays as mentioned above, will have increased the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident.

On 12 February 2024 the landlord carried out another inspection of the resident’s property. It identified that the resident’s bedroom ceiling needed to be repaired. This was 89 days after the resident had previously raised that her bedroom ceiling was like a sponge, as part of her complaints to the landlord. This delay was not appropriate. The information seen by the Ombudsman shows that the landlord missed this repair between November 2023 and January 2024 as part of its previous inspections and communication with the resident. This is evidence of poor handling of its repairs processes. This should have been investigated and repaired within 25 days, in line with its damp and mould policy, and repairs policy as set out above.
In the landlord’s final response to the resident’s complaints on 14 February 2024, it was appropriate that it agreed to inspect the extractor fans in the resident’s property to assess the ventilation. The resident has advised us that this inspection has taken place. This was appropriate as it was right that the landlord continued to engage with the resident to find the cause, as well as a solution for the moisture within the walls of her property. This is in line with its damp and mould policy which states it may require multiple fixes to treat incidents of damp and mould related issues.
In the landlord stage 1 and stage 2 complaint responses it invited the resident to submit proof of her high energy bills. It said it would then refer this information to its energy team to investigate. This was a reasonable response by the landlord. This was because it had previously been unaware of this issue. Therefore it was appropriate that the landlord communicated to the resident that it would carry out an investigation if she provided her energy bills as proof that her bills were unusually high.
There is evidence of failings as described above in the landlord’s overall handling of the resident’s concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property. These relate to delays as referred to above. The Ombudsman accepts that these delays were not excessive, but overall they did cause distress and inconvenience to the resident.
We have considered our own remedies guidance (published on our website) in respect of compensation for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s errors. We have reviewed the landlord’s award of £970 compensation in its final response dated 14 February 2024. It is not clear how much the landlord awarded the resident for this aspect of the resident’s complaint. Therefore, we have considered that the landlord awarded the resident £830 for its overall handling of all the repairs. This level of compensation is within the range the Ombudsman would issue in compensation in this case, based on the evidence we have seen. Examples of this level of compensation include where the failures adversely affected the resident but resulted in no permanent impact.
Therefore the Ombudsman considers that the compensation in addition to the landlord’s apology within its final response provided to the resident, to be a reasonable and proportionate response to resolve this aspect of the resident’s complaint.
In November 2024 the resident advised the Ombudsman that the landlord had updated her that the issue of moisture in her walls related to issues with the guttering, and that it would take 6 months to clean them. The Ombudsman will make a recommendation that the landlord should complete these repairs within a reasonable timescale, in line with industry best practice.

The resident’s reports of repairs to the balcony, the bathroom ceiling, and the boiler at the property.

The landlord’s repairs policy states it is responsible for the structure and exterior of the property. It is also responsible for the boiler, hot water, and heating, as well as cracked ceilings. The landlord categorises and responds to its repairs as follows:
1. Emergency – This is where a repair causes an immediate danger to residents. It will respond within 24 hours.
2. Routine – It will aim to complete these types of repairs within an average of 25 days.
The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will provide compensation in line with right to repair legislation. This is when the repair cost is less than £250 and is not fixed within the statutory period. For heating and hot water between 1 October and 1 May, this repair must be fixed within one day. If it does not complete this repair, it must pay the resident £10 plus an additional £2 per day, until it is fixed. This is capped at £50.

Repair to the balcony.

On 12 April 2023 the landlord carried out an inspection of the resident’s balcony. This was after the resident made a report that it was defective and allowing water to enter the property. The landlord’s operative carried out part of these works on 18 April 2023. The operative said it needed a contractor to carry out further works to the back left wall of the balcony. The contractor attended on 28 April 2023 and provided the landlord with a quote for these works. The landlord’s initial response to this repair was reasonable. This was because this would have been considered a routine repair. In these first 17 days, the landlord carried out an inspection and identified the works to be completed by a suitably qualified contractor.
The evidence reviewed by the Ombudsman shows that the landlord had closed this repair in May 2023, without the follow-on works being completed to the balcony by its contractor. This was a failing by the landlord in its record keeping, and management of this repair. The landlord should have communicated with its contractor about these follow-on works as this would have identified the delay in its contractor being unable to complete these works to the resident’s balcony during this period.
The resident chased the landlord about the outstanding works to her balcony as part of her complaint on 16 November 2023. The landlord’s contractor completed the repair to the resident’s balcony on 1 December 2023. It reattended the resident’s property 7 days later and again confirmed that the works had been completed to the balcony. The works to the balcony were completed 234 days after it had raised its inspection. This was a significant delay which the Ombudsman understands increased the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident during this period.

Repair to the bathroom ceiling.

On 26 October 2023 the resident reported a crack in her bathroom ceiling. The landlord inspected the ceiling in the resident’s bathroom on 10 November 2023. It identified a minor crack beside the lighting pull cord. The landlord’s contractor completed this repair 26 days later on 20 November 2023. This was a routine repair. Therefore the landlord’s response to this repair was appropriate and in line with its repairs policy as set out above.
In the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response on 11 January 2024, it advised the resident to get in touch if she was not satisfied with the works, it had carried out to the bathroom ceiling. This was a reasonable response by the landlord, and was evidence of clear communication as it had carried out this repair 4 days after the resident had originally raised her complaint.

Repair to the boiler.

On 8 November 2023 the resident reported issues with her boiler. She then reported having no heating or hot water on 10 November 2023. The landlord raised a repair for its contractor to attend the resident’s property on 13 November 2023. The landlord’s contractor failed to attend this appointment. This was not appropriate and resulted in the resident experiencing a further delay in having no heating or hot water. The landlord should have responded to this repair within 1 day in line with the ‘right to repair’ legislation as referred to above.

On 18 November 2023 the landlord’s contractor carried out works to the boiler at the resident’s property. The resident has said that its contractor was unable to repair the boiler during this visit. The Ombudsman has seen evidence that the resident chased the landlord during this time about having no heating and hot water. We understand that this delay in the landlord’s handling of the repair to the boiler, whilst being without heating and hot water, will have caused the resident significant distress and inconvenience at that time.
On 30 November 2023 the landlord’s damp and mould surveyor attended the resident’s property. Whilst completing the inspection, the surveyor identified that there was a fault with the boiler’s programmer and raised a further repair. The landlord’s contractor completed this repair to the boiler’s programmer on 30 December 2023. This was 51 days after the resident reported the repair. This was a significant delay. The landlord states in its compensation policy, under the right to repair legislation, it should aim to restore hot water and heating within one day, between 31 October and 1 May. It was, therefore, fair that it recognised this error and paid the resident £250 for its delays in carrying out the repair on 28 November 2023. This is more than the maximum payment listed in its compensation policy, as referred to above.
The Ombudsman has also not seen any evidence that the landlord provided an alternative source of heating during this period. It should have also provided reassurance to the resident in its earlier communication that it would compensate the resident in line with the ‘right to repair’ legislation. It would have also been reasonable if the landlord had explained to the resident that it would cover any additional heating costs she incurred, as a result of the delay to the repair of the boiler. This is evidence of poor communication.
There is evidence of failings as described above in the landlord’s overall handling of the resident’s reports of repairs to the balcony, the bathroom ceiling, and the boiler at the property.
The Ombudsman has considered our own remedies guidance (published on our website) in respect of compensation for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s errors. We have reviewed the landlord’s award of £970 compensation in its final response dated 14 February 2024. As referred to above, the Ombudsman has considered that the landlord awarded the resident £830 for its overall handling of all the repairs. In addition to this, the landlord has also awarded the resident a further £250 for its handling of the repair of the resident’s boiler on 28 November 2024 as part of a separate correspondence to this complaint. This level of compensation is within the range the Ombudsman would issue in compensation in this case, based on the evidence we have seen and is therefore reasonable to resolve this aspect of the complaint.

The resident’s associated complaint.

The landlord has a 2-stage complaints process. It will acknowledge a resident’s stage one complaint within 5 working days. It will then provide its written response at stage one within 10 working days of its acknowledgement. The landlord will provide its stage 2 response within 20 working days. It will provide a resident with an explanation if it requires more time to respond to a resident’s complaint, at either stage. If in the exceptional circumstance that it requires an extension, the landlord will write to the resident to explain this within 10 working days and agree a timescale to provide its response.
On 16 November 2023 the resident raised a complaint to the landlord about its handling of her reports of the repairs referred to above. The landlord provided its stage 1 written complaint response 38 working days later, on 11 January 2024. This is evidence of poor complaint handling. The Ombudsman would expect a landlord to provide a stage one complaint response within 10 working days, in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (which sets out our service’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling). Where the landlord may need further time to respond to a resident’s complaint, this should not exceed a further 10 working days.
On 11 January 2024 the resident requested the landlord escalate her complaint. The landlord communicated to the resident that same day and acknowledged the resident’s request. The landlord then acknowledged the resident’s request again on 19 January 2024. In this communication the landlord explained there would be a delay in it being able to provide the resident with its final written response. It was appropriate that the landlord explained this to the resident and is in line with the Code as referred to above.
The landlord provided its final written response to the resident’s complaints on 14 February 2024. This was 25 working days after it first acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate her complaint. This was appropriate because the landlord had explained there would be a delay in it being able to provide it response. The delay was not excessive and was in line with the Code as referred to above.
There is evidence of a failing caused by the landlord’s initial delay in handling the resident’s complaints. The Ombudsman understands that this inconvenienced the resident, who was chasing, whilst waiting longer than she should have been for the landlord to respond to her complaints. The Ombudsman has reviewed the landlord’s award of £140 compensation within its final response. We consider that this level of compensation in addition to its apology to be a reasonable and proportionate response to resolve this aspect of the resident’s complaint. This amount of compensation is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, as referenced above.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves the complaints about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Concerns about leaks, and damp and mould within the property.
2. Reports of repairs to the balcony, the bathroom ceiling, and the boiler at the property.
3. Associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Recommendations

The landlord should pay the resident the £970 it awarded her in its final response to her complaints on 14 February 2024, unless this has already been paid.
The landlord should pay the resident the £250 it awarded the resident on 28 November 2023, for its handling of her reports of the repair to her boiler unless this has already been paid.
The landlord should carry out its cleaning and inspection of the guttering at the resident’s property within 4 weeks of the date of this report. If follow up works are required it should set out a schedule of works it is responsible for, including estimated timescales in line with industry best practice, which it should share with the resident in writing.