Southend-on-Sea City Council (202317488)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317488

Southend-on-Sea City Council

10 December 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 the resident’s reports about:
   1.  A leak, damp and mould and subsequent damage to personal belongings and decorations.

Background

2. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a 1–bedroom bungalow.
3. The resident raised a complaint on 23 March 2023. The resident said a job had been raised for a leaking roof in November 2022. He said a survey was completed by a contractor after several cancelled visits, but he had to chase the outcome of this. The resident said the landlord had visited again at the end of February 2023 but the leak had become worse by this time. The resident said he had explained that he was experiencing black mould growing in the property and mould spores on items of furniture and belongings. He said he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a reduced immune system, and his wife had a heart condition. The resident said the property was having a physical and mental impact on his health.
4. The landlord responded at stage 1 of its complaints process on 11 April 2023. It apologised that repairs had remained unresolved for a period. It said a surveyor had attended that day and had confirmed all the outstanding repairs were now complete. This included the extraction system, the roof repair and mould treatment.
5. The resident escalated his complaint on 15 May 2023. He said he had reported mould and damp in November 2022 and although repairs had been carried out, this was 6 months after he had initially raised the issues. During this time items within his property were covered in mould, damp and had been ruined. The resident provided the details of the items. This included items within drawers, the back panel of a wardrobe, clothes, and a bed and mattress. The resident said the cost of electricity to run a dehumidifier for a few days had been very high. He said wallpaper in the bedroom was peeling off, and the ceiling where the mould was needed repainting. He asked for assistance to decorate the bedroom and replace the bed and mattress.
6. The landlord issued its final response on 16 June 2023. It said the following:
   1. It apologised for the late response and acknowledged the delay in getting matters resolved.
   2. It offered the resident £660 compensation, comprised of:
      1. £100 for matters associated with the delivery of the works and follow up on concerns that did not meet its standards.
      2. £500 by way of contribution to have items professionally cleaned or replaced. The items in question were: items in drawers, back of wardrobe, mattress and bed linen, and decorations.
      3. £10 for the out of pocket expense of using a dehumidifier.
      4. £50 for inconvenience, time and trouble, disappointment, and delays in getting matters resolved.
7. The resident sent the landlord a response to its stage 2 letter on 25 June 2023. This included photos of the damage, and further information about the damaged items and the costs to replace these. The resident requested total compensation of £2090.88 for the landlord’s poor service, damage to his belongings, the dehumidifier running costs, and general inconvenience. On 27 July 2023, the landlord confirmed to the resident that it had reviewed the further information. It said the decision and compensation offer, remained unchanged from the Stage 2 response letter.
8. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and contacted this Service in September 2023 to request an investigation into his complaint.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation.

9. In his submissions to the Ombudsman, the resident has referred to further issues which arose after the end of the complaints process. These included a reoccurrence of damp and mould, and a gutter leak. In accordance with paragraph 42.a. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this investigation centres on the issues raised during the resident’s formal complaint in February 2023, and responded to by the landlord in its final response on 16 June 2023. This is because the landlord needs to be given an opportunity to investigate and respond to any reported dissatisfaction with its actions prior to the involvement of this Service. Any new issues that have not been subject to a formal complaint can be addressed directly with the landlord and progressed as a new formal complaint if required.
10. The resident referred to the situation impacting his health. While this Service is able to assess the response the landlord provided, and any overall distress or inconvenience this may have caused, it is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on the resident’s health and wellbeing. This is in line with paragraph 42.f. of the Scheme which explains the Ombudsman may not consider matters which are fairer and more effectively dealt with by the courts. The Ombudsman does not have the required expertise to establish whether there is a direct link between the landlord’s handling of the issue and the resident’s health.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about a leak, damp and mould and subsequent damage to personal belongings and decorations.

11. The landlord accepted its repairs responsibility under the tenancy agreement.
12. Repairs information on the landlord’s website states it aims to respond to non-urgent, routine repairs within 28 days of being reported. The website states the landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior of the home, interior walls (not including decoration), skirting boards, and ceilings. It says the resident is responsible for interior decorating.
13. The landlord’s compensation policy and procedure says in some instances the landlord may offer financial redress in recognition of a failure to deliver a service or by way of an apology. In regard to payments for damage to property and belongings it says:
    1. It is generally the tenant’s responsibility to insure the contents of their home, but, where property or belongings have been damaged due to actions, or inactions, of the landlord it will consider appropriate compensation.
    2. Where a claim for damage or loss is made, the tenant will be visited within 14 days to assess the damage or loss incurred. A Compensation Claim form must be completed in all cases.
    3. Compensation will not be paid where there has been no breach of the terms of the tenancy.
    4. Claims over £250 will be referred to its insurers. Where the landlord is found to be liable, the insurers will settle directly with the tenant.
    5. A claim for compensation cannot be considered where this would normally be dealt with as part of a claim on its insurance or compensation which would be covered by any other insurance or cover policy including the tenants own policy.
14. The landlord’s repair records showed a repair was raised on 21 November 2022 following a report by the resident of water ingress into the property through ridge tiles on the roof. It was not clear when the landlord had initially inspected the property following the resident’s reports on 21 November 2022. The resident stated in his complaint that several appointments were cancelled prior to the surveyor’s visit. The landlord’s records show an internal email on 8 December 2022 from a surveyor discussing the possible causes of the leak with a contractor and instructing a further investigation. This demonstrated the landlord had started its investigations into the cause of the leak within the 28 day timeframe set out in its repair policy.
15. Certain repair problems can be complex and take time to diagnose and resolve, sometimes involving an element of trial and error. The landlord’s records showed it raised a repair on 10 January 2023 to attend the property and track and trace a possible leak from the roof. It inspected the property again on 15 February 2023 in relation to the water ingress, and provided a dehumidifier on 17 February 2023. This action was appropriate to investigate the cause of the leak and use a dehumidifier to tackle the effects of the leak in the meantime.
16. The landlord completed the works to the roof on 11 April 2023. This was a timeframe of over 4 months from the resident’s first report. The landlord did not provide details for the delay between its inspection in February 2023 and the completion of the work. It was evident the resident had to take the time and trouble to follow up with the landlord on the work in the form of a complaint.
17. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 1 response that there had been delays in completing the repairs and offered an apology for this. In its final response, the landlord offered the resident compensation of £160 relating to its delivery of the works. This was an appropriate action to take to recognise its delay. However, the landlord did not offer an explanation for the delay.
18. The resident reported damp and mould in his complaint on 23 March 2023, the landlord attended on 5 April 2023 to complete a mould wash but could not gain access. This was rebooked for 2 May 2023. The landlord’s response time here was appropriate. Although this was outside of the timescales in the landlord’s repair policy, this was understandable given the lack of access.
19. The resident stated in his complaint that decoration, furniture and belongings had been damaged by mould as a result of the landlord’s delay in completing the repairs to the water ingress. In its final response, the landlord offered the resident £500 of compensation in relation to this. The actions taken showed the landlord attempting to resolve the issue for the resident. However, the landlord had not followed its policy here and referred the matter to its insurer. There was also no evidence that the landlord completed a compensation claim form in line with its policy.
20. Furthermore, following the end of the complaints process, the resident provided the landlord with further details of the costs to replace the damaged items and decoration as requested by the landlord. This cost was in excess of £250. The landlord confirmed to the resident that its offer remained unchanged. It missed the opportunity again to refer the claim to its insurer in line with its compensation policy. This was unreasonable.
21. Overall, the landlord delayed in completing the repairs to the leak. The resident experienced damp and mould in his property while waiting for the repair to be completed. The landlord attempted to put things right for the resident through its offer of compensation of £160, and £500 towards some of the damage the resident said he had experienced. The compensation and apologies offered by the landlord were broadly reasonable in the circumstances of its delayed handling of the leak. However, the resident was alleging a much higher level of damage costs, for which the landlord has a procedure set out in its compensation policy. It did not follow that procedure, which was a failing which remains unresolved.

Determination

22. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of a leak, damp and mould and subsequent damage to personal belongings and decorations.

Orders and recommendations

Orders.

23. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident compensation of £100 for the inconvenience caused to the resident from the failings found in this report.
24. The landlord is to provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations.

25. If it has not done so already, the landlord should pay the resident the £660 compensation it offered during the complaints process.
26. In line with its compensation policy the landlord should also explain to the resident how he can make a claim for any damaged items to its insurers.
27. In his complaint, the resident explained the impact the damp and mould was having on him and his wife in consideration of his health vulnerabilities. The landlord’s tenancy records stated a member of the household had limited mobility. However, it was not clear if the landlord was aware of the resident’s COPD and his wife’s heart condition prior to his complaint in March 2023. Therefore, a recommendation is made for it to contact the resident to discuss any vulnerabilities that should be recorded to ensure its records are accurate and up to date.