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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202415792)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202415792

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

28 April 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 the resident’s reports of flooding, damp, and mould, and requests for associated repair works.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of a 1-bedroom flat, owned by the landlord. He has health vulnerabilities including epilepsy and seizures which he described as being aggravated by damp and mould conditions. The landlord is aware of this.
  2. On 4 April 2024 the resident made a formal complaint about the landlord’s handling of severe flooding in his flat caused by a burst pipe in a neighbour’s flat. He reported damage caused to his property by the flood, including to his bathroom, ceiling, walls, hallway, and the presence of damp and mould. He requested for it to repair the damage caused by the flood and resolve the damp and mould issues.
  3. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 5 April 2024. It upheld the complaint and raised repair jobs. It initially offered £240 as compensation broken down as £60 for distress, £60 for inconvenience, and £120 for service failure. However, it increased this offer to £360 on 8 April 2024.
  4. The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s stage 1 response as he felt it had not adequately addressed his concerns. He requested escalation of his complaint to stage 2 of its process on 4 July 2024.
  5. On 13 August 2024 the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It scheduled repairs and offered an additional £390 in compensation. This was broken down as £100 for distress, £150 for inconvenience, £100 for time and effort, and £40 for poor complaint handling. It also offered the resident £50 in vouchers towards decoration.
  6. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response and brought his complaint to us. He wants it to offer increased compensation, pay for his damaged items, redecorate his flat, and resolve the damp and mould issues.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident told the landlord and the Ombudsman that the damp and mould have had a negative effect on his health. The courts are the most effective place for disputes about personal injury and illness. This is largely because independent medical experts are appointed to give evidence. They have a duty to the court to provide unbiased insights on the diagnosis, prognosis, and cause of any illness or injury. When disputes arise over the cause of an injury, oral testimony can be examined in court. While the Ombudsman cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.

Reports of flooding, damp and mould and requests for associated works

  1. The landlord’s show that it attended the property on 8 and 9 January 2024 to resolve reports of flooding caused by a burst pipe in a neighbouring flat. It is unclear when it first received the reports of flooding. On 29 January 2024 it raised a job to repaint the resident’s bathroom. Between 14 March 2024 and 28 March 2024 it raised and cancelled approximately 4 jobs for plastering and painting in the bathroom and hallway.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states it is responsible for maintaining the structure and exterior of the home. It aims to complete routine repairs in 25 calendar days. However, by 28 March 2024, it had not completed the repairs caused by the flood, exceeding its policy limit by more than 33 days. This was a failing, especially since the resident informed it of the distress and inconvenience caused, and it was aware of his vulnerabilities.
  3. The resident reported black mould in the hallway, bedroom and airing cupboard to the landlord on 6 February 2024. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states that upon receiving a report of damp and mould, it will determine if an immediate repair is needed and act according to its repairs policy. It will schedule an assessment within 20 working days to understand the issues presented and their scale. The assessment will identify the cause of the damp and mould and provide the resident with management guidance. Any necessary repairs will be recorded and assigned to maintenance teams within 10 working days. It will communicate clearly with residents about timescales and keep them informed throughout the process.
  4. The landlord’s records show it attend the property and completed mould washes in the property on 16 February 2024. This was reasonable and in line with its damp and mould policy. However, in line with its policy it should also have informed the resident what plans it had to permanently resolve the damp and mould issues and kept him updated regarding further treatments. It failed to do this.
  5. In his stage 1 complaint on 4 April 2024 the resident stated that the landlord provided dehumidifiers but removed them after 2 weeks. The damp and mould had reappeared, and his hallway was damp. He informed it damp and mould exacerbated his epileptic fits. He questioned why it had not offered him temporary accommodation. He requested that it strip and repaper the walls. He said the flood ruined his expensive wallpaper.
  6. In its stage 1 response the landlord apologised and acknowledged the distress and inconvenience the situation caused the resident. It offered total compensation of £240 which it subsequently increased to £360 after he informed it that the amount was not reasonable considering he spent £180 on purchasing a dehumidifier. It booked a plastering and redecorating job for 16 April and 30 May 2024, respectively. It also provided detailed information on how the resident could claim for damaged personal items under its insurance policy. It was reasonable of the landlord to provide this information in response to the resident’s reports of damaged personal items. This was in line with its compensation policy that where damage occurs to resident’s personal possessions it will refer the issue to its insurance.
  7. The landlord’s stage 1 and subsequent increased compensation offer on 8 April 2024 shows it attempted to put things right for the resident. However, it failed to address his further reports of damp and mould and his requests for dehumidifiers.
  8. Furthermore, given the lengthy wait and the health concerns the resident reported, not scheduling the replastering until 30 May 2024 was unreasonable. Also, the landlord’s vulnerable user policy commits to tailoring services to meet the needs of vulnerable residents, ensuring those with health issues receive priority and appropriate adjustments There is no evidence the landlord considered whether it needed to tailor its services by arranging for an earlier replastering appointment or considering other mitigating actions such as temporary accommodation.
  9. The date the landlord scheduled for repairs was more than 4 months from the initial booking on 29 January 2024. This was an unnecessarily long delay and would have caused further distress and inconvenience to the resident.
  10. The landlord’s record shows it raised a job on 9 and 24 May 2024 for its damp and mould specialist to attend the property. It records show it did not complete this job until 6 June 2024. This was more than 2 months from the resident’s stage 1 complaint when he informed it of further damp and mould in the property. The landlord failed to act in line with its policy by not prioritising this repair or responding within its policy time limit of 20 working days.
  11. On 25 May 2024 the resident informed the landlord that the replastering, painting, and decoration works were still incomplete. He reported that the damp and mould had spread to other parts of the property, significantly affecting his health. He also mentioned he had previously paid a professional decorator £1,000 to paint and wallpaper the property. Additionally, other personal items were damaged due to the leak. He expressed frustration over conflicting messages about his responsibility to redecorate and move items from his bedroom.
  12. In its response on 28 May 2025 the landlord provided its insurance details again and asked the resident to make a claim for his damaged items via its insurers. As set out above this response was in line with its compensation policy which states it will not offer compensation for damages to a resident’s personal possession. These claims should be referred to its insurers. In the case of damage to resident’s decorations, it will complete reasonable redecoration or provide decoration vouchers for the resident to complete the restitution work themselves.
  13. While the landlord’s position in relation to providing its insurer’s details was reasonable. It should also have addressed the resident’s concerns about redecoration responsibility and managed his expectations earlier regarding what redecoration, if any, it would complete. It should have provided clear information on the specific works it would undertake and the timeline for completing the outstanding repairs.
  14. This lack of communication and information was a failing and not in line with the landlord’s repairs policy, which states it will keep residents updated on the status of their repairs. This would have understandably caused further unnecessary distress and inconvenience to the resident.
  15. The resident requested to escalate his complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s process on 4 July 2024. In his further correspondence on 13 July 2024, he stated that it had been over 6 months since he made the reports and the repairs were still outstanding. He stated the conditions had a negative impact on his health and he requested increased compensation.
  16. In its stage 2 complaint response of 13 August 2024 the landlord clarified the outstanding issues for the resident were: for it to remove mould from his entrance hall, repaper the walls, remove and fit a new carpet, deliver a new mattress, and redecorate his bathroom walls.
  17. The landlord stated it completed the bathroom redecoration on 30 May 2024. It scheduled a job for 13 September 2024 to complete the plastering works. It said it would: assess the damage to the bedroom and hallways, provide a schedule for the required works, and assess what support it could provide in assisting the resident to remove the current wallpaper as he expressed difficulties in doing this himself. The resident informed it his insurance covered the cost of the new carpets.
  18. The landlord confirmed it was not responsible for redecoration and would not cover the cost of wallpaper. It advised the resident to claim for his wallpaper, mattress and other personal belongings under its insurance and provided its insurers details. It agreed that it should have managed the repairs more effectively and completed them more swiftly. It upheld the complaint and acknowledged and apologised for the distress and inconvenience it caused him. In addition to the previous compensation of £360 it awarded an additional £350 broken down as £100 for distress, £150 for inconvenience, £100 for time and effort getting the complaint resolved. It also offered £50 vouchers towards wallpaper.
  19. The landlord made some attempts to rectify the situation for the resident by apologising and offering a total compensation of £710, plus £50 in vouchers. However, these actions were insufficient and not proportionate to the detriment caused. Additionally, the associated works related to painting, decoration, and damp and mould repairs were still outstanding at the stage 2 response. This was more than 4 months after the resident’s stage 1 complaint and almost 7 months since the flood occurred in January 2024. The resident informed us some works are still outstanding. The landlord failed to follow its relevant policies and did not treat the resident’s complaint with the urgency it deserved, causing further distress and inconvenience.
  20. In conclusion, while the landlord agreed to address the issues and offered compensation, its response was inadequate, and the compensation was not proportionate to the identified failures. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports. As a result, we have ordered additional compensation of £300 to reflect these shortcomings. This is made up of £50 for the dehumidifier expenses and £250 for distress and inconvenience likely incurred by the resident. This amount is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for situations such as this where the landlord has made some attempt to put things right but failed to address the detriment to the resident and the offer was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of flooding, damp and mould and requests for associated works.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord must:
    1. Provide a written apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Arrange an inspection for damp, mould, and to determine any outstanding works required to the resident’s bathroom, hallway, walls, and ceilings.
    3. Within 2 weeks of the inspection, confirm in writing to the resident, with a copy to this Service, an action plan for addressing the resident’s outstanding concerns. This action plan must include:
      1. Timescales for completing any required damp and mould works.
      2. Timescales for addressing any outstanding associated works.
    4. Pay the resident the total sum of £1,110 in compensation, including the £750 previously offered, if not already paid, broken down as:
      1. £750 previously offered.
      2. Additional £300 broken down as follows:

(1)  £250 for any distress, and inconvenience likely incurred by the resident.

(2)  £50 towards dehumidifier expenses.

  1. Provide the resident with the previously offered £50 decoration vouchers.
  2. All monies ordered by us must be paid directly to the resident and not used to offset any monies owed by the resident to the landlord.
  3. Provide the Ombudsman with documentary evidence of compliance.