Royal Borough Of Greenwich (202422350)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202422350

Royal Borough Of Greenwich

15 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 handling of:
   1. A leak from the toilet causing damage to the resident’s home.
   2. The subsequent damp and mould.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

2. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
3. After carefully considering all the evidence, it is determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

4. The resident is a secure tenant of the property which is a 4-bedroom house.
5. The resident has stated that she has had an ongoing leak for the past 7 years. The earliest record provided by the landlord was on 7 February 2023 and the resident raised a formal complaint on 8 November 2023. The complaint was in relation to a property inspection she had requested on 25 October 2023. She wanted to know why the landlord had not contacted her. She said she wanted someone to attend her property and inspect the issues she had raised.
6. Following the complaint, the landlord carried out an inspection and identified the works required. The landlord carried out a number of visits to the property following that, but it did not identify a leak until 23 May 2024. In its stage 2 response, the landlord outlined the action it had taken in relation to the issues reported and what action it would need to take next. It said it was working on a comprehensive schedule of works to address the issue. It apologised for the prolonged delay and offered £150 in compensation.
7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response. She said she had toilet water leaking into her property since she moved in in 2017. She said it had ruined her walls and floors, and she has had to live with the smell and contamination for years. She referred to her children’s medical conditions and how the issue may have impacted them. She said the situation had severely affected her mental health due to the stress and concerns as a result of living in unsanitary conditions. She said the landlord’s response was not factually correct and the issues remained unresolved.
8. As a resolution to her complaint, the resident wanted a more reasonable offer of compensation and for the landlord to complete the works. She said she was withholding her rent until the landlord fairly resolved the matter.
9. The landlord took the resident to court for possession on the grounds of rent arrears. At the trial on 28 January 2025 the resident informed the court that her property was in disrepair. The resident was given directions by the court to file a defence and counter claim. The resident has confirmed that she has instructed a solicitor and intends to file the counter claim. There has been an extension of the deadline for this which was to allow the landlord to disclose contact information, repair records, and to allow further time for it to investigate. Both parties agreed on an independent expert, the property was inspected, and the report was expected on 9 May 2025.
10. The current deadline for the resident to file her defence and counterclaim is 23 May 2025.

Reasons

11. The Scheme sets out the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to consider complaints brought before this Service. In particular, paragraph 42 sets out an exhaustive list of the type of complaints the Ombudsman may not consider.
12. Paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings.
13. This means that the Ombudsman may not consider a complaint where, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, the court can handle all the matters now complained of to this Service. This is because the Ombudsman ought not to make decisions which may affect the findings and orders of the court. So, where issues can be raised in legal proceedings, the court is the appropriate forum for listening to the arguments and can then reach a decision which is binding on the parties.
14. It also goes against the effective handling of cases for this Service to consider duplicate matters, which are likely to be considered by a court. This may also contravene the rule against having a matter adjudged twice. 
15. It should also be noted that this Service is unable to assess and determine damages in the same way as a court. Therefore, in filing a counter claim, the resident will have commenced the appropriate proceedings for the outcome she is seeking.
16. The resident confirmed to this Service on 1 May 2025 that she had instructed a solicitor and was waiting to submit a court claim following receipt of the independent report. Therefore, the resident has had and has taken the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of the legal proceedings for her rent arrears. As such, it is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and not a complaint the Ombudsman can investigate further.