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Southampton City Council (202322414)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202322414

Southampton City Council

15 January 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould in the property.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as an assured tenant since April 2023. The property is a ground floor studio flat.
  2. The landlord’s records show the resident reported damp and mould in her property on 29 September 2023. On 3 October 2023, the landlord’s plumber, who was fixing a leaking toilet, told the landlord there was a smell of damp in the property.
  3. On 10 October 2023, the landlord received a disrepair claim on behalf of the resident. A manager visited the property on 11 October 2023 and then asked for a damp and mould inspection. On 13 October 2023, the landlord wrote to the resident and told her a damp and mould inspection would take place on 8 November 2023. The landlord’s records noted that the damp and mould was affecting the resident’s asthma.
  4. The resident complained on 19 October 2023, about the attitude of the manager who visited on 11 October 2023. She said the manager had told her that her way of living had caused the damp and mould. She also referred to the cost of living making it hard to heat her home and to her health conditions, including asthma. She said the damp and mould had damaged her personal possessions.
  5. In its complaint response on 27 October 2023, the landlord said following the visit on 11 October 2023, it had arranged a survey, which would take place on 8 November 2023. It said it had also arranged repairs to improve ventilation and would treat the mould. The landlord said it understood the resident’s health concerns and apologised for how the situation had left her feeling. It assured her the manager had tried to explain the importance of ventilation and it was not his intention to cause distress.
  6. The resident accepted the apology but escalated her complaint on 1 November 2023, as she said a lack of ventilation had not caused the damp and mould. She said an unresolved leak had caused the damp and mould.
  7. The damp and mould survey took place on 8 November 2023. It found no visible leak but noted low pressure on the boiler, which it said suggested a leak. It recommended a further investigation using a leak detection company.
  8. In its final response on 10 November 2023, the landlord said there was new information about a leak, which it did not know about when it sent its stage 1 response. It said it would continue to investigate and deal with any repairs. It said it was dealing with the disrepair claim separately.
  9. Work to repair an underground leak took place in January 2024, and the landlord arranged for the resident to move into a hotel while this took place. It also settled the disrepair claim.
  10. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman. She said she wanted compensation for damaged possessions and costs, and for the stress and time taken. She also wanted an apology.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the Investigation

  1. The resident complained that she wanted compensation for damage to her personal possessions.
  2. After carefully considering the evidence, the Ombudsman cannot consider this part of the complaint. This is because paragraph 42f of the Scheme says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts or other procedure. While the Ombudsman is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to prove legal liability and whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action led to damage to the possessions. However, the Ombudsman can assess whether the landlord followed proper procedures and behaved reasonably when dealing with the reports of damage.

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould in the property

  1. The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) for keeping in repair the structure of the property and the installations for supplying water and sanitation. This means the landlord has a general obligation to repair the property. The landlord’s responsibility is set out in its tenancy handbook. The records provided show the landlord accepted that it was responsible for the repairs.
  2. The landlord’s tenancy handbook says it will fix reported repairs within a reasonable time.
  3. The Ombudsman has not seen the landlord’s damp and mould policy. However, the landlord’s website provides information to residents on how to prevent damp and mould. It says it is very important that resident’s ensure they take preventative measures to protect their home and belongings from damage. It says failure to take “self-help measures” will be considered if the resident makes a claim for damage. The landlord’s website also says that if a resident has taken reasonable steps to prevent damp and mould by following the advice, it can arrange a surveyor to investigate.
  4. The Ombudsman’s 2021 spotlight report on damp and mould, says landlords should make sure their response to reports is timely and reflects the urgency of the issue. They should share the outcome of surveys with residents to help them understand the findings and be clear on the next steps. They should also act on accepted survey recommendations in a timely manner and give clear and regular communications on actions taken.
  5. Records provided by the landlord show the first report of damp and mould was on 29 September 2023. The Ombudsman has seen no earlier records relating to reports of damp and mould. The landlord’s records also show there was a report of a leaking toilet on 2 October 2023. A plumber visited on 3 October 2023 and told the landlord that there was a smell of mould in the property.
  6. On 11 October 2023, a repairs manager visited the property. The manager then raised repairs to deal with the damp and mould, including fitting an extractor fan and requesting a damp and mould survey. On 13 October 2023, the landlord told the resident that a damp and mould survey would take place on 8 November 2023. The Ombudsman has found that the landlord responded reasonably to the report of damp and mould. This is because it acted in a reasonable time, communicated with the resident, arranged what it thought were reasonable repairs, and arranged a survey.
  7. In her complaint on 19 October 2023, the resident complained about the manager’s attitude and about the effect the damp and mould had on her health and her personal possessions. She wanted the landlord to resolve the damp and mould.
  8. In its complaint response on 27 October 2023, the landlord explained the actions it had taken and what it would do to resolve the problem. It apologised for how the situation had left the resident feeling. It said it was not the manager’s intention to cause any distress and he had tried to explain the importance of ventilation. The Ombudsman cannot take a view on the comments the resident said the manager made, as there is no record of these. However, it would be reasonable for the landlord to give the resident advice on what she could do to reduce condensation, damp, and mould in her property. As the resident was clearly upset by the situation, it was reasonable for the landlord to apologise for any unintended distress caused.
  9. The resident told the landlord on 1 November 2023, that she accepted the apology but wanted to escalate her complaint. She said a leak was affecting her boiler and the leak was the cause of the damp.
  10. Following the resident’s report of a fault with the boiler on 1 November 2023, the landlord sent a plumber to the property the same day. The plumber found the boiler was working correctly but suspected there could be a leak in pipes that he could not access. On 3 November 2023, another plumber attended. On 6 November 2023, the resident told the landlord that the plumber who attended on 3 November 2023 had told her there was a leak in a pipe under her property, and this was causing the damp and mould.
  11. The damp and mould survey took place on 8 November 2023. It found no visible leaks but said there was high humidity in the property. It also noted that the water supply company was going to investigate a possible leak. The survey took place over a month after the report of damp and mould. However, the Ombudsman has found the landlord acted reasonably in the time since the report, as it had visited the property, and arranged to fit an extractor fan and survey the property.
  12. On 9 November 2023, the resident told the landlord that the water supply company had not found a leak in their pipes. The landlord confirmed there was a suspected leak under the bathroom floor on 10 November 2023. The landlord said it would arrange for a leak detection company to find whether there was a leak in the pipes within the property.
  13. In its final response on 10 November 2023, the landlord said that since it sent its complaint response on 27 October 2023, it had received new information about a leak. It said it was investigating a possible leak and it was “too early” to decide what was the root cause of the damp and mould in the property.
  14. The Ombudsman has found that on the balance of probabilities, the landlord could not have known about the cause of the damp and mould when it sent its first complaint response. A plumber first found a possible leak while investigating a reported fault with a boiler on 1 October 2023. Following investigations by the water supply company, the landlord said it would arrange for a specialist leak detection company to investigate. This was a reasonable course of action. However, the landlord could have given the resident a clearer timescale for this work in its final response.
  15. The Ombudsman has noted that following the final response, a leak detection company visited the resident’s property on 30 November 2023. The landlord’s records say it offered an earlier appointment, but the resident was away the week before. The leak detection company found a suspected leak under the concrete bathroom floor. It said repairs would take 5 days, and would involve removing the toilet, digging out a concrete floor, fixing the leak, relaying the floor, and reinstating the toilet.
  16. On 12 December 2023, the landlord agreed with the resident that repairs would start on 15 January 2024. The landlord arranged for the resident to move into a hotel while it repaired the leak. The landlord completed the repairs on 19 January 2024. In December 2024, the resident told the Ombudsman there had been no further problems with damp and mould since the landlord completed the repairs. On the balance of probabilities, the Ombudsman has found the damp and mould was the caused by the leak and not by the resident.
  17. The Ombudsman has noted that following a request from the resident, the landlord agreed to pay the resident £100 to cover the cost of food while she was staying in a hotel room that had no cooking facilities. It is the Ombudsman’s view that this was the minimum the landlord should have done to recognise the inconvenience caused.
  18. Overall, the Ombudsman has found the landlord responded reasonably to the reports of damp and mould. The response to the first report on 29 September 2023 was prompt, and the landlord took reasonable steps to address what it thought was the cause of damp and mould. It arranged to fit an extractor fan, it provided information on how to reduce damp, and it arranged a property survey within a reasonable time. All of these were reasonable actions at that time.
  19. When further information about a possible leak became available to the landlord on 10 November 2023, it arranged for a specialist company to visit the property. There was a slight delay in the appointment due to the resident’s availability and the inspection took place on 30 November 2023. Major repairs then took place 6 weeks later in January 2023, which was a reasonable length of time considering the amount of work involved and the need to move the resident to other accommodation. Overall, the landlord completed major repairs within 4 months of the first report of damp and mould. Because of this, the Ombudsman has found that the landlord fulfilled its repairs obligations and there was no maladministration in its handling of reports of damp and mould in the property.
  20. However, it is the Ombudsman’s view that the landlord did not adequately consider the inconvenience caused to the resident by the damp and mould and especially the need to move the resident to a hotel. Because of this, the Ombudsman recommends that the landlord review its handling of events after the final response and, depending on their findings, consider making an award of compensation for inconvenience caused.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of reports of damp and mould in the property.

Recommendation

  1. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord review its handling of events after the final response and, depending on their findings, consider making an award of compensation for inconvenience caused.