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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202418392)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202418392

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

29 May 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 response to leaks in the resident’s property including reported damage to the ceiling, hallway, walls and damp and mould.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident lives in a ground-floor two-bedroom property under an assured shorthold tenancy which started in 2012. The resident lives with her 2 children and a young adult daughter. The resident said it told the landlord that 1 child and the young adult have health conditions.
  2. On 8 January 2024 the resident reported a crack in her hallway ceiling and a boiler leak to her landlord. On 8 August 2024 she complained about leaks, damp and cracked walls, as well as an insect infestation. The resident expressed dissatisfaction that the landlord had removed the ceiling in her hallway, leaving the joists and upper floorboards exposed.
  3. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 16 August 2024 and said it raised a plumbing job for 19 August 2024. It agreed to arrange a survey and mould wash. The resident escalated her complaint on 16 August 2024, and the landlord provided its stage 2 response on 22 August 2024 and said:
    1. it responded to the resident’s reports within a reasonable time and as there were no delays it did not uphold the complaint
    2. it acknowledged the resident’s concerns about her hallway ceiling but said this was no risk and that it would reinstate the ceiling soon, but it needed to leave it exposed to dry
    3. it attended on 19 and 21 August 2024 and found no leaks, but it agreed to send a surveyor to check the property, including the bathroom
    4. it agreed to monitor any works.
  4. On 3 October 2024 the resident instructed a solicitor to pursue a disrepair claim. The landlord arranged for a surveyor to inspect the property on 4 December 2024. The surveyor reported on 18 December 2024 with recommended repairs detailed in the assessment below. The landlord has told us it has agreed to the works and is negotiating with the resident’s solicitor over the settlement terms.
  5. Both the resident and landlord have confirmed there are no legal proceedings. The resident referred her complaint to this Service. The resident has told us that she wants compensation for distress on account of the living conditions, an apology and the outstanding works completed.  

Assessment and findings

The scope of investigation

  1. The resident told the landlord that she reported a boiler leak in around 2020 and a leak affecting her hallway ceiling in 2022. We have seen evidence the landlord was aware of a toilet leak on 11 May 2023. The resident did not complain about leaks until August 2024. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and while the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred.
  2. This Service may not consider complaints which were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 12 months of matters arising. In view of the time periods involved in this case this investigation has assessed the landlord’s handling of the leaks from 2024 until the landlord’s final response, including any actions it agreed in this.
  3. The Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure. The resident raised a complaint about “open wires” on 19 August 2024 in relation to exposed electrical wiring. This was during the internal complaint process. We have not seen that this complaint exhausted the landlord’s complaint process. Therefore, while we have not assessed this specific issue, we have considered whether the landlord’s complaint handling was in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. 
  4. Throughout the complaint and in communication with this Service, the resident said this situation had a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of her and her adult daughter. She also stated the air quality and housing condition meant the whole household had “chest problems”. 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, 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.

The landlord’s response to leaks

  1. The Ombudsman expects landlords to maintain a detailed record of contacts and repairs. This is because clear, accurate, easily accessible records provide an audit trail. They also improve the landlord’s ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise. We consider the landlord has failed to maintain adequate records. This has affected our ability to carry out a thorough investigation, as highlighted at various points throughout this report. This was a significant failure by the landlord and contributed to other failures identified in this report.
  2. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord had a responsibility to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property. The landlord was responsible for the resident’s boiler, ceilings, and walls under its repairs policy. The resident’s tenancy agreement also reflected these obligations. The landlord’s repairs policy required it to complete routine repairs it was responsible for within an average of 25 calendar days.
  3. The resident reported a boiler leak and cracks to her hallway ceiling and walls on 8 January 2024. The landlord said in its stage 2 response that it visited the resident’s property on 10 January 2024 and 9 February 2024. However, the Ombudsman has not seen evidence to verify this. Therefore, we cannot say the landlord acted reasonably or in line with its repair policy because we cannot verify it inspected and completed repairs within 25 calendar days. As the resident has told us the boiler still leaks, we have made an order in relation to this. The landlord and resident agreed that the landlord removed the hallway ceiling, including suspected asbestos, on 31 July 2024. The landlord did not complete this within a reasonable time because this was over 6 months from when the resident reported the leak.
  4. The landlord’s damp and mould policy required it to identify the cause and assess the extent of any damp or mould within 20 working days of the report (8 August 2024). The landlord said it inspected the property on 19 and 21 August 2024 and found no leaks to the resident’s boiler. While it noted “minimal” mould it still needed to assess the cause and address this under its damp and mould policy. The landlord said the resident did not allow a healthy homes assessment on 28 August 2024. We have seen evidence that the landlord attempted to follow this up on 3 September 2024 but was unable to as the resident declined the call and appointment. Therefore, we consider the landlord made reasonable attempts to address the damp.
  5. We note that the landlord was aware of a potential bathroom leak on 21 August 2024 after it ruled out a heating system leak. The landlord agreed in its stage 2 response that it would arrange a surveyor to conduct further assessment and to confirm there were no leaks prior to the ceiling being reinstated. It also said that the bathroom fixtures and fittings would be checked, and water tested. It said it would monitor the inspection, any associated repairs and ensure they were completed to the resident’s satisfaction. However, there is no evidence that the landlord booked the inspection until 4 December 2024, after the resident instructed a solicitor to pursue a disrepair claim. This was 104 days after its stage 2 response when it promised to send a surveyor which was an unreasonable delay.
  6. The landlord’s inspection report of 18 December 2024 recommended the landlord needed to:  
    1. replace the bathroom floor and dry out the partition wall between the toilet and bathroom
    2. repair the bottom of the integral boiler cupboard
    3. hack off the kitchen partition wall within the ground floor hallway and renew the plaster
    4. renew and skim the plasterboard ceiling in the hallway.
  7. The landlord agreed in its final response to monitor the inspection and any “associated repairs”. Therefore, we have considered the landlord’s actions against the jobs or “associated repairs” it said it would do post complaint closure as part of its inspection of 18 December 2024. We have seen evidence that the landlord sought to obtain quotes for this work in late February 2025 and needed to inspect the property. However, in early March 2025 the resident wanted compensation and a schedule of work before she would allow an inspection. The resident has not confirmed to this Service that she will allow an inspection. Therefore, while we cannot be satisfied that the landlord acted as quickly as possible to start the work after complaint closure (22 August 2024) it is not completely responsible for the delays. As the recommended repairs in the report of 18 December 2024 are outstanding, we have made an order in respect to this. Although the landlord acted reasonably to address the damp and mould, we have made an order relating to it as the resident said it is still present.
  8. The resident told us the property condition made her oldest daughter unwell and made her feel unable to use the property to have guests or for celebrations. She also referred to her and a daughter experiencing chest and throat “heaviness” and said all the household experienced breathing problems. While we acknowledge the resident feels the property is “unsafe and unhygienic” we have not found evidence of this. We note the report from 18 December 2024 described the property as in “a fair state of repair” and habitable and without “structural issues within the building”.
  9. The resident requested temporary accommodation on 8 August 2024. However, there was no obligation on the landlord to offer alternative accommodation unless the property was uninhabitable. The landlord considered the resident’s request and explained in its stage 1 response its reasons for not providing it. The resident requested compensation for damage to belongings from the leaks. We note that the landlord explained to the resident she could either claim on her home contents insurance or contact its insurer if she felt the landlord was responsible. This advice was reasonable and in line with its compensation policy. We understand the resident made a successful claim on her home contents insurance and therefore there is no ongoing issue.
  10. The delays in completing the work likely caused significant distress and inconvenience to the resident, taking into account the stated household vulnerabilities and the length of delays. The resident has provided evidence that she made a rehousing application to the landlord in November 2023 on account of the medical condition of the young adult in the household. However, we have not seen evidence that the landlord noted this or took into account this vulnerability when responding to the outstanding repairs. This was a significant failure and likely caused the resident significant emotional distress. Therefore, we have made an award of compensation to reflect this which takes into account the impact of the delays in appointing a surveyor, starting the work and the ongoing report of a boiler leak. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £400 for the distress and inconvenience she likely incurred. This amount is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for situations like this where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident.
  11. The Ombudsman published a report in July 2023 about the landlord, following a special wider investigation. It found multiple systemic failings that were impacting its residents. These included that the landlord was failing to take effective ownership management of repairs leading to delays and poorly communicating with residents. This Service required the landlord to make changes including improvements to its handling of repairs, complaints and how it kept records. The failings identified by this complaint largely mirror those identified by the special investigation that are part of the ongoing improvement work ordered. As such, and in view of the age of this complaint, we have therefore not made any similar orders.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. Paragraph 6.7 of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (“the Code”) requires landlords to address all points raised in a complaint. We note the resident complained about insects in her complaint, but the landlord did not address this in its complaint responses. This was inappropriate as this was not in line with the Code. We also note that the resident referred to concerns about “open wires” on 19 August 2024. While this was not part of her initial complaint and was after the stage 1 response the landlord should have logged a new complaint. This is in line with the expectations in paragraph 6.8 of the Code.
  2. These complaint handling failures meant that it failed to act in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. These omissions likely caused the resident distress; therefore, we have made an award of compensation of £100. This is in line with our remedies guidance which allows for awards of up to £100 where we have found service failure. As the resident has told this Service she has issues with a dangling light fixture and exposed wires we have made an order to address this. The resident has not complained about any ongoing issue with insects and so we have not made an order in relation to this.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s response to leaks including reported damage to the ceiling, hallway, walls and damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 28 days of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. inspect the resident’s boiler and complete any necessary repairs or confirm it is in working order
    2. inspect the property for damp and mould and write to the resident setting out what action it will take to deal with any present
    3. complete an electrical inspection as recommended in the report dated 18 December 2024
    4. pay the resident directly the sum of £500 made up of:
      1. £400 for the likely distress and inconvenience caused by its response to the leaks
      2. £100 for the likely distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling.
  2. Within 56 days of the date of this determination the landlord must write to the resident and this Service to provide:
    1. a timeline for when it aims to start and complete the work recommended by its surveyor within the report dated 18 December 2024
    2. a plan for regularly updating the resident on the work.
  3. The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within the stated timescales.