Orbit Group Limited (202321352)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202321352

Orbit Group Limited

9 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

The complaint is about:
1. The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould caused by an ongoing leak in the property.
2. The landlord’s handling of various repairs to the property.
3. The associated complaint handling.

Background

The resident holds an assured tenancy which started in April 2022. The property is a 3-bedroom house. The resident has medical conditions including mental health concerns and epilepsy.
In January 2023, the resident complained to her landlord about disrepair in the property. The landlord failed to respond to the resident, which prompted her to seek support from this Service.
On 22 December 2023, the Ombudsman wrote to the landlord and asked it to provide its stage 1 complaint response. The complaint was about damp and mould in the property, faulty drainage pipes, a structural defect in the rear side of the property, internal damage caused by active movement and the necessary repairs needed in the property.
The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 11 January 2024. It upheld the complaint. The landlord said:
1. It acknowledged delays in responding to the resident’s reports of damp and mould and concerns of cracks appearing in the property. It would complete works to resolve this.
2. It had failed to complete works to address problems with drainage and so it planned to complete works to rectify blockages within the pipework to neighbouring properties.
3. It surveyed the property in May 2022 regarding cracks and structural issues in the property. It had raised a roof repair as it believed a roof fault contributed to the damp and mould.
4. It offered £470 compensation to the resident for the poor service and delays in completing works and it would ensure it completed works within acceptable timeframes.
The resident asked this Service to escalate her complaint to the landlord. On 1 March 2024, the Ombudsman wrote to the landlord and explained the resident’s reasons for escalating the complaint. She asked it to resolve the damp and mould, rectify the structural concerns at the rear of the property, investigate the ground conditions and drainage, complete any necessary repairs and rehouse her.
The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 10 April 2024. It later provided 2 additional stage 2 reviews on 22 April 2024 and 29 April 2024. It upheld the complaint. It said:
1. The drainage issues were the responsibility of the water company, and it advised her to contact them directly regarding any concerns.
2. It would arrange works to ensure that the roof was waterproof and to address the guttering which restricted the ability to open windows at the property.
3. It would complete repairs to the kitchen (including to the stains on the wall), repaint the stained bedroom ceilings, install 2 new windowsills and repair an external retaining wall. It said it would complete the works as a major repair on a 90-day programme.
4. It had forwarded her rehousing request to its management move panel to consider and would provide an update when possible.
5. It had resolved the leak on 17 February 2024 and completed the works to the kitchen roof on 15 February 2024.
6. It had completed the recommended works from 2 structural surveys on, or before, 7 March 2024.
7. It would inspect the internal plaster cracks during a visit in May 2024, but it understood that the cracks were not of a serious structural nature.
8. It offered a total of £2,958 compensation. This was made up of £470 offered within its stage 1 complaint response, £1,177 for delays in completing repairs and any stress and inconvenience caused, £450 for poor complaint handling and £861 towards costs associated with the damp and mould in the property.
The resident escalated her complaint to this Service as she was unhappy with the landlord’s response and said it had not resolved the leak and there was outstanding disrepair at the property. The complaint became one that the Ombudsman could investigate on 28 May 2024.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident said that the disrepair in the property affected her health. While this Service does not doubt the resident’s comments, it is outside our remit to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is in accordance with paragraph 42(f) of the Scheme. This Service has considered the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident.
The resident has raised concerns which have occurred after the landlord provided its final complaint response. These included damage to her belongings and dissatisfaction with the replacement of her flooring. The resident may wish to log a new complaint for the landlord to investigate these concerns and have the opportunity to put things right, if she has not already done so. She may then bring that complaint to the Ombudsman as a new case to be investigated were she to be unhappy with the landlord’s final response. This is in accordance with paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme.

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould caused by an ongoing leak in the property

The landlord has poor record keeping in relation to its repairs. It is unclear when the leak was first reported. Its records show the first report in March 2023, but its complaint responses referred to reports in late 2022 which it has not evidenced to this Service.
It is evident that the landlord raised multiple repairs with plumbers and roofing operatives to try and find the source of the leak between March 2023 and January 2024. However, it is unclear what prompted it to raise the repairs and if this was a result of further reported concerns from the resident herself or whether the landlord proactively managed the matter.
It is also unclear when the damp and mould was first reported in the property. The landlord’s damp, mould and condensation procedure states that upon a report of damp or mould, it should complete a report form, but it has not provided this Service with evidence that it did so, which is a failing. It states that it would raise a damp and mould case within 5 working days of the report and arrange mould treatment within a further 5 working days. It outlines that it would inspect properties within 5 working days where children are present in the household.
It is difficult to assess the time taken to complete the repairs because of the landlord’s poor record keeping. It raised works related to damp and mould on 19 May 2023 to complete a mould treatment, replace the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, and overhaul the windows. However, it is unclear what prompted these works as its records show it did not complete a damp survey until 26 July 2023. It is a failing that the landlord has not evidenced that it surveyed the damp and mould concerns in a timely manner in line with its procedure.
The damp survey report from July 2023 produced recommendations to resolve the damp and mould concerns. This included recommended works to investigate the source of the leak by checking the roof and chimney stack, hacking off plasterwork and completing water tests to find any issues with the pipework. The landlord delayed arranging the works, which it logged on 6 October 2023 and completed on 8 March 2024. It is unclear whether it found any leaks or whether it booked any follow on works due to the lack of information on its repair logs. This delay was not acceptable.
During this time, on 23 November 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to report that the property had black mould and damp in the kitchen, dining rooms and bedrooms. She also noted that mushrooms had developed on the ceilings. This would have understandably caused considerable distress and inconvenience to the resident as the landlord has still not yet resolved the leak.
In response to the resident’s concerns, the landlord attempted to complete a mould treatment at the property on 29 November 2023, but it is unclear whether the landlord informed the resident of the appointment as she was not at home. It rescheduled the appointment for 13 December 2023 which it later rearranged to allow it to inspect the property first. The landlord’s records from 19 December 2023 stated that it could not complete any mould treatment until it had fixed the roof. It is understood that the landlord believed the roof works would resolve the leak. However, in the meantime, the resident remained in a property with disrepair which would have understandably caused significant distress to her.
The landlord decanted (temporarily moved) the resident from the property so it could replace the roof. The decant started on 15 January 2024 and she returned to the property on 12 March 2024. It was appropriate for the landlord to arrange a decant for the resident to allow it to complete works, but it is unclear why it did not do so earlier, given the ongoing concerns. From the evidence provided to this Service, the landlord failed to provide the resident with proactive and meaningful updates on the works during the decant period. It is noted, however, that it provided regular updates regarding the decant accommodation during this time.
The landlord failed to review its repair records which impacted its ability to provide accurate complaint responses to the resident. It said it had resolved the leak during the decant period on 17 February 2024. However, its records state that it was unable to repair the leak on this date and the leak continued. Additionally, on 20 February 2024, its contractor said it could not complete repairs to the plasterwork because of the ongoing leak. It is unclear why the landlord did not review its records to ensure it had resolved all outstanding repairs before the resident returned to the property and also before it provided its complaint responses which gave incorrect information. This would have understandably caused confusion and distress to the resident and led her to question its handling of the matter.
Similarly, within the landlord’s complaint responses, it said it had completed the works to replace the roof on 15 February 2024. However, the landlord has provided repair records which, despite stating that it had completed works to the kitchen roof on this date, noted the new roof remained in progress. It is therefore unclear why the landlord recorded the job as complete when it potentially had not fully completed the works and this resulted in it giving the resident incorrect information.
The landlord said it inspected the property on 27 February 2024 before the resident returned but it is unclear how thorough this was. In any case, despite replacing the roof, a leak remained unresolved. This resulted in the resident continuing to experience disrepair with the leak, and damp and mould, after she returned to the property.
Within the landlord’s complaint responses, it said it would complete works on 18 April 2024 to the guttering which it believed may have contributed towards the damp and mould. It also said that it had scheduled various remedial repairs on a 90-day major works programme to address the stains and damage caused by the damp and mould. The landlord has not provided evidence to this Service to show that it has arranged these repairs, which is a failing.
Overall, the landlord delayed in completing works to address the ongoing leak, and ultimately failed to resolve it, which would have understandably contributed towards the damp and mould concerns in the property. The leak remains unresolved which the landlord noted during an appointment to repair damaged plasterwork on 7 June 2024. The works completed by the landlord to make good the internal damage caused by the leak and damp and mould are redundant without first resolving the leak, as the damp and mould would likely return.
Within the landlord’s complaint responses, it acknowledged failings such as delays and poor communication in its response to the damp and mould. In total it offered £1,647 compensation towards poor service, delays in completing works and stress and inconvenience caused to the resident, which was for its handling of the damp and mould but also for other repairs. It offered a further £861 compensation which its damp and mould team had awarded separately for costs associated with the decant period. This included compensation towards damaged freezer food items which had defrosted due to an issue with the electrics, and compensation towards her utility bills and carpet cleaning costs.
While it was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge failures in its handling of the damp and mould, it failed to offer full redress for the failings identified within this investigation. The landlord’s poor record keeping impacted its overall handling of the matter and understandably created avoidable confusion and distress to the resident by providing her with inaccurate information and failing to follow up with repairs on the ongoing leak.
Considering this, the landlord is ordered to pay a further £850 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. This is an appropriate award in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for failures which have significantly impacted the resident. This Service has also made relevant orders below regarding the ongoing leak and damp and mould.

The landlord’s handling of various repairs to the property

The resident raised concerns to the landlord about the structural safety of the property because of multiple cracks and damaged plasterwork internally, but it is unclear when the concerns were first reported due to the landlord’s poor record keeping. The landlord completed a structural survey in October 2022 which found potential active movement in the property. The report outlined 3 potential causes of the movement and recommended that the landlord investigated the issues to establish the cause.
There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord provided proactive updates or communication to the resident following the structural survey, and it has not evidenced that it completed any of the recommended works. This prompted the resident to contact the landlord for updates on 5 occasions between October 2022 and March 2023. This would have understandably caused frustration to the resident as she would have questioned whether the landlord took her concerns seriously.
The landlord completed a second structural survey in April 2023 which outlined the same findings and recommended investigations into the 3 possible causes of the active movement. This survey said it should check the ceiling joints at eaves level, assess the property foundations for any seasonal ground movement and consider fracture repairs to prevent further plaster damage, and to also consider more significant structural concerns at the rear of the property. It advised it to complete intrusive below ground investigations to check the drainage, foundations and ground conditions at the rear corner of the property and at the kitchen extension.
Given that the landlord had not completed the recommended actions from the initial structural survey report from October 2022, it is unclear why it repeated steps to survey the property again. The repeated actions would have added unnecessary delays in addressing the structural concerns at the property and understandably caused further distress and inconvenience to the resident.
Both reports detailed cracked plasterwork, particularly at the rear of the property. The resident has advised that her children sleep in the bedrooms at the rear of the property, which the landlord was aware of. This would have understandably caused concerns for her regarding their safety following the survey’s finding of potential active movement and the landlord’s inaction to investigate the causes.
On 23 January 2024, while the resident was decanted from the property, she asked the landlord to complete the recommended works outlined in the structural survey reports because she was concerned that it would ignore it. The landlord has not provided any evidence to show that it responded to her concerns. In its complaint responses, it said that it had completed the recommended works from the survey reports on or before 7 March 2024. However, the landlord has not provided any evidence to this Service to show this which is a failing. The resident also disputes that it has completed the recommended works to find the cause of the active movement.
The resident experienced concerns with a manhole in her garden which flooded occasionally and caused sewage water to flood her back garden. Both of the structural surveys noted that the external gullies at the rear of the property were in a poor condition and recommended that repairs to the gullies and replacing an area of concrete in the garden. The landlord’s final complaint response said it had completed all of the recommended works on or before 7 March 2024, but it has not provided evidence to this Service to show that it has done so.
Within the landlord’s complaint responses, it said it would inspect the internal cracking present within the property in early May 2024. On 16 May 2024, it raised works to repair damaged plasterwork. However, it is unclear whether the landlord completed this or not because it noted that it first needed to resolve the leak before the plastering works could be completed. The landlord’s repair records are confusing as it labelled all jobs as ‘completed’ despite notes stating it had not carried out the repairs.
Additionally, the surveys recommended the landlord to rebuild the retaining walls in the rear garden due to a risk of it moving under earth pressure. Within the landlord’s complaint responses, it said it would complete this repair on 14 May 2024. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord raised this repair or whether it completed the works on this date. This is a failing.
Due to the ongoing sewage floods in the rear garden, both surveys recommended that the landlord contact the water company to ensure that it completed necessary repairs to prevent a further occurrence. It is therefore unclear and confusing as to why, within its complaint responses, the landlord told the resident to contact the water company herself regarding any drainage issues within the rear garden. This would have understandably caused further distress to the resident as it gave conflicting advice to her.
In summary, there is no evidence to suggest that the landlord completed the necessary recommended works from the 2 structural surveys. This would have understandably caused significant distress to the resident who had concerns about the safety of her home and household. It is also a concern that the landlord has shared internal communications from April 2024 where it could not recall whether it had completed a structural survey at the property or not. This is a significant record keeping failing and likely contributed to its lack of action in completing the recommended works.
The landlord’s overall offer of £1,647 compensation was for its handling of the various repairs and the damp and mould. Given the failings identified within this investigation and that the repairs records do not clarify whether it has carried out the necessary recommended works, the landlord is ordered to pay a further £600 compensation to the resident. This is an appropriate award in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for failures which adversely affected the resident. Additional orders are outlined below regarding the outstanding repairs.

The associated complaint handling

The resident complained to her landlord in January 2023, but the landlord has not provided this Service with a copy of her original complaint. This is a record keeping failure.
In line with both the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code in use at the time of the complaint and the landlord’s complaint policy, the landlord should have acknowledged the complaint within 5 working days and provided its stage 1 complaint response within a further 10 working days.
The landlord has not provided any evidence to suggest that it acknowledged the complaint, which prompted the resident to contact it for an update on 3 March 2023. There is no evidence to suggest that it responded to her. The landlord wrote to her on 7 July 2023 and 6 October 2023 and advised it was still investigating her complaint so it could not provide a response. During an appointment on 15 December 2023, the resident told the landlord it had not responded to her complaint but there is no evidence to suggest that it provided any updates to her at this time. There is a continued theme of lack of communication and poor complaint handling throughout the complaints process.
Due to the lack of response from the landlord, the resident contacted this Service for support in escalating her complaint. On 22 December 2023, the Ombudsman asked the landlord to provide its stage 1 complaint response within 5 working days, by 3 January 2024. The landlord requested an extension and provided its response on 11 January 2024.
The resident should not have to chase the landlord or contact this Service to receive a response to her complaint. It was not appropriate for the landlord to delay in providing its response. During this time, the resident was inconvenienced by the time and trouble in chasing the response while thinking the landlord was not taking her complaint and concerns seriously. It did not acknowledge or offer any redress for its failings in its complaint handling within its stage 1 complaint response.
The resident asked this Service to escalate her complaint to the landlord. The Ombudsman wrote to the landlord on 1 March 2024 and asked it to provide its stage 2 complaint response within 20 working days, by 2 April 2024. The landlord requested an extension and provided its response on 10 April 2024.
The landlord missed an opportunity to address all of the resident’s concerns by providing a comprehensive stage 2 complaint response. It failed to address multiple aspects of the resident’s complaint which prompted this Service to ask the landlord to review its final complaint response on 2 occasions. This meant the landlord ultimately provided 3 stage 2 complaint responses to the resident’s escalation request.
It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge its failings in its complaint handling at stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process. In total, it offered £450 compensation towards its poor complaint handling. While it offered compensation which would be in line with this Service’s remedies guidance for failures which adversely affected the resident, it did not offer full redress to the resident. It did not explain why it had failed to respond to all aspects of the complaint and also why it had not provided its complaint responses within the timeframes set out in the Code and its own policy. It also did not explain any steps it would take to ensure that it would learn from its mistakes and put things right to prevent this occurring going forward.
Considering the failures identified within this investigation, the landlord is ordered to pay a further £75 compensation for the time and trouble caused by its poor complaint handling.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould caused by an ongoing leak in the property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of various repairs to the property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the associated complaint handling.

Orders

Within 28 calendar days of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Apologise to the resident in writing for the failures identified within this investigation. It should include specific examples in reference to each complaint point.
2. Pay a total of £4,483 compensation. This should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against her rent account. This is made up of:
  1. The £2,958 offered by the landlord in its final complaint response for its handling of reports of damp and mould caused by an ongoing leak in the property, its handling of various repairs to the property, its complaint handling and the damp and mould payment offered towards the costs of damaged frozen food and utility bills.
  2. A further £850 for the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould caused by an ongoing leak in the property.
  3. A further £600 for the landlord’s handling of various repairs to the property.
  4. A further £75 for the associated complaint handling.
3. Contact the water company to ensure that it completes any necessary repairs to prevent further sewage flooding into the garden.
Within 6 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Arrange a surveyor inspection of the property and then produce an action plan of the outstanding works required at the property, with dates of when it will complete those works. It should, as a minimum, include the works outlined below which have been identified following this investigation. If it has already completed any of the below works, it should provide evidence of when the works were completed and arrange a post-inspection of the completed works within 4 weeks of the date of this determination to confirm whether any follow-on works are required. This information should be provided to both the resident and this Service. The works should include the following:
  1. Find and rectify the source of the leak.
  2. Damp and mould treatment to the property.
  3. Remedial works to the kitchen and bedrooms as listed within the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response on 10 April 2024.
  4. Repairs to the plasterwork from both the water leak and cracks.
  5. Repairs to the guttering.
  6. Repairs to the gullies and replacement of a section of concrete in the garden.
  7. Repairs or rebuilding of the retaining walls.
  8. Repairs to investigate the 3 potential causes of the structural movement as identified and outlined within the structural survey report from October 2022 and April 2023.
  9. Repairs to make good the internal decorations within the property.
  10. Ay other works identified as required by the surveyor during the inspection.
The landlord should reply to this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescale set out above.