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Royal Borough Of Greenwich (202338787)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202338787

Royal Borough Of Greenwich

29 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
    1. Reports of damp and mould.
    2. Associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the property, a ground-floor flat owned by the landlord. She lives with her partner and 2 young children. She has ongoing health concerns which were diagnosed after she brought her complaint to this Service.
  2. The resident reported issues with damp and mould to the landlord from as early as 2018. It completed several inspections and completed works to the living room ceiling in late 2022. She reported further issues in November 2023, and it completed a further inspection on 29 November 2023, raising further works.
  3. On 24 January 2024, the resident complained to the landlord as mould persisted within the property despite its previous treatments and suggestions. She felt that it was blaming her for the damp and mould. She explained that she had found mould under her child’s mattress and that it was affecting the health of both her children. She asked the landlord to rehouse her and her family.
  4. The landlord responded to the resident at stage 1 of its complaints process on 6 March 2024. It outlined the history of its damp and mould responses at the property and that it would be contacting her soon to arrange a mould wash and installation of thermal boarding. It stated that was partially upholding her complaint and apologised for an inconvenience and upset caused.
  5. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 on 21 March 2024 as the landlord had not contacted her within the period it promised in relation to bathroom works. She stated that she felt the property was not a safe or healthy environment for her and her family to live in, due to the children showing signs of high mould exposure.
  6. The landlord provided the resident with its stage 2 complaint response on 18 April 2024. It explained that it had raised a further mould wash with its contractor as part of its stage 1 response and that it had reminded them to contact her promptly to arrange this. It said that it would update her once it had more information from its damp and mould team about her dissatisfaction with the proposed location for thermal boarding. It stated that it would not need to rehouse her while this works took place and that she would need to contact any other queries about rehousing with her tenancy officer. It stated it was partially upholding her complaint.
  7. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response and the ongoing issues with damp and mould and brought her complaint to this Service for investigation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. Throughout the period of the complaint the resident has reported the effect that the issues have had on the health of her and her children. The Ombudsman is not able to make a determination about any links between the issues and her health concerns. A determination relating to damages caused to their health is more appropriate for the courts and she may wish to seek appropriate advice if she wishes to consider that option.
  2. The resident has been reporting ongoing issues with damp and mould since 2018. However, these did not form part of a formal complaint. As such, this Service has only considered events that occurred in the 12 months leading to her complaint in January 2024. Any further mention of historical matters prior to January 2023 is only for context within this report.

Damp and mould

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy gives a response time of up to 20 working days for a non-urgent repair. It does not specify timescales for its response to damp and mould related issues.
  2. In January 2023, the landlord completed damp and mould works in the resident’s living room and bathroom. Her MP raised damp and mould with it as an ongoing issue in February 2023, but she made no further reports until 9 November 2023, when she advised it of mould in the bathroom and children’s bedroom. It raised works on 27 November 2023 to complete a mould wash and a damp and mould inspection.
  3. The landlord inspected the resident’s property on 29 November 2023, within its 20-working day timescale for non-urgent repairs. Afterwards, it requested that it raised further works to install thermal boarding to the children’s ceiling and bathroom, along with works to adjust a balcony door and trace an under-bath leak. This was in line with its policy.
  4. The landlord completed a mould wash at the resident’s property on 14 December 2023. This was 25 working days after she reported the issue to it and had exceeded its policy timescale of 20 working days.
  5. The resident complained to the landlord on 24 January 2024. In her complaint, she outlined the works it completed previously but stated that despite these, there was still mould growth in the property and she had found this under her child’s mattress and on a previously replastered wall. She felt that it had blamed her family for the damp and mould and that there were no further treatments available for her to try. She requested that it rehouse her to aid her children’s health.
  6. Following receipt of the resident’s complaint, the landlord chased the works its surveyor requested in November 2023. On 31 January 2024, its surveyor stated that there had been a delay in raising these works. It then raised works on 1 February 2024 to complete a mould wash and replace the bath panel, along with further works to install thermal boarding on 8 February 2024. At this stage, it had far exceeded its 20-working day policy timescale and left the resident in a state of uncertainty with how it would resolve the issue.
  7. The landlord communicated with its contractor about the necessary works between 21 and 29 February 2024. They requested an asbestos test for the bedroom ceiling before proceeding on 27 February 2024, however, the landlord did not respond to this. The contractor chased a response on 10 April 2024 after it advised them that the matter formed part of the resident’s complaint. They explained that they had not contacted her to make an appointment yet as they had been waiting for the outcome of the asbestos testing. Its lack of response to this request caused unnecessary delays to arranging works.
  8. On 6 March 2024, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident. It briefly outlined the history of its response between 2021 and 2023 and explained the works identified by its surveyor on 29 November 2023. It said its contractor would contact her to arrange the mould wash and thermal boarding. It stated that it hoped this would help to improve the overall condition of her home and that she should speak to its tenancy team to discuss relocation to another property. It apologised for any inconvenience and upset caused and thanked her for her patience, stating it was partially upholding her complaint.
  9. The landlord’s complaint response was confusing. It partially upheld her complaint and while it apologised for any inconvenience and upset, it did not address why this may have been the case. It acknowledged that the works would help to improve the condition of her home but had not arranged the necessary testing to ensure its contractors could complete them. This was not appropriate and by failing to recognise its own delay, it was likely to attract further complaints from the resident.
  10. The resident requested escalation of her complaint on 21 March 2024. She told the landlord that after an operative inspected the required bathroom works on 1 March 2024, they (the operative) said they would contact her within 21 days to explain what they could do. However, she said she never received a response. She felt the thermal boarding to the children’s ceiling would not stop the mould as this was an unaffected area. She felt the property was not a safe or healthy environment for her and her children.
  11. On 15 April 2024, the landlord provided the resident with a revised stage 1 response. It amended the response by confirming an appointment date of 7 May 2024 for replacing the bath panel. It contacted its damp and mould team to request an update about outstanding works and requested they contact her to discuss the thermal board placement. This was a positive step, but it appears that this was prompted by its need to provide her with a stage 2 response.
  12. The landlord provided the resident with its stage 2 response on 18 April 2024. It said that it had reminded its contractor to contact her and arrange the mould wash by 1 May 2024. It said that it would continue to speak with its damp and mould team about her concerns with the location of thermal boarding and would update her when it had more information. It reiterated its response to her request for rehousing and said that it would not need to decant her during works. It again stated that it had partially upheld her complaint, but did not clearly explain why this was the case, which was again, confusing, and it did not appropriately acknowledge her concerns.
  13. The landlord has provided evidence to this Service demonstrating that its complaints team continued to chase its damp and mould team for a response about works in the weeks following its complaint response. Its complaint team continued to chase works to improve conditions for the resident. Its internal communication was disjointed but it has provided the Ombudsman with its reviewed approach to damp and mould reports which has been in place since May 2024. As such, no orders will be made in response to this issue.
  14. The resident explained to this Service during a telephone conversation on 6 December 2024, that she cancelled all outstanding works due to her ongoing cancer treatment. As such, the orders made in the case will consider her current circumstances.
  15. In conclusion, the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould has been conflicting. At times, it has acted promptly and conducted necessary inspections. However, it has also caused unnecessary delays in completing works due to a lack of communication and organisation.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord operates a 2-stage complaint process. Its complaints policy states that it will acknowledge complaints at both stages within 5 working days from the date of receipt. It will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days of receipt and at stage 2 within 20 working days of receipt. At both stages, it can provide a revised timescale if it requires more time to investigate.
  2. The resident sent her complaint to the landlord on 24 January 2024. It failed to acknowledge this, leading her to chase it on 12 and 15 February 2024. It had already exceeded its own policy response time at this stage. When it provided its stage 1 complaint response on 6 March 2024, it did not acknowledge or apologise for this delay. This was not reasonable, especially when considering she had to chase it for acknowledgment of her complaint.
  3. The resident requested escalation of her complaint on 21 March 2024. The landlord did not acknowledge this until 10 April 2024, exceeding its 5 working day acknowledgment policy timescale. However, it did provide its response within 20 working days as outlined in its policy. In its response, it did not acknowledge any of its prior complaint handling delays which was not good practice in the circumstances.
  4. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it will include its decision along with reasons for any decisions made. It stated it was partially upholding the resident’s complaint at both stages, but did not explain why or acknowledge any failings, which was a failing under its complaints policy. It also did not offer any form of redress for this, despite this being possible under its complaints and compensation policies.
  5. Overall, there were avoidable delays in the landlord’s complaint handling, along with the failure to explain its decisions as previously outlined in this report. It is clear from the evidence it has provided that its complaints team were trying to chase updates internally, including at management level. However, this does not account for its lack of clarity or delays in acknowledgment and response.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme:
    1. There was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
    2. There was service failure in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord must, within 28 days of this determination:
    1. Pay the resident compensation totalling £750, broken down as follows:
      1. £650 for the failures identified in its handling of damp and mould works.
      2. £100 for the failures identified in its complaint handling.
    2. Contact the resident to discuss viable options for completing any necessary works, such as a decant, and agree a plan going forward with her.
    3. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    4. Provide the Ombudsman with evidence that it has complied with these orders.

Recommendations

  1. This Service recommends that the landlord contacts the resident to offer advice about rehousing and how it may assist her considering her current circumstances.