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Southern Housing (202401200)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401200

Southern Housing

29 April 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 reports of damp and mould in the property.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the associated complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of a 1-bedroom flat with his partner since 2009. The landlord’s records say the resident has a learning disability and has hearing and communication difficulties.
  2. The landlord’s surveyor inspected the property for damp and mould on 7 December 2022. The landlord took action to address the issue in February and May 2023.
  3. The resident called the landlord on 21 November 2023. He said there was still damp and mould in the property.
  4. On 12 December 2023 the resident complained to the landlord. He said it had not taken action regarding his reports of damp and mould.
  5. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 15 April 2024. It apologised for the delay in taking action regarding the damp and mould. It offered £235 compensation to the resident for its handling of the complaint and the delay in replying to it.
  6. The resident escalated the complaint on 2 July 2024.
  7. The landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 18 October 2024. It offered a further £150 compensation for the delay in replying.
  8. The resident told us on 8 November 2024 he was dissatisfied with the landlord’s complaint response. 

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has told us of the impact the damp and mould has had on his and his partner’s health. Whilst this Service is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. Matters relating to personal injury or damage to health are likely better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury claim. However, we will consider any general distress and inconvenience caused where there has been a failing by the landlord.
  2. During the investigation into the resident’s complaint, the landlord provided details of a complaint response it sent to the resident on 28 July 2023. The complaint response addressed reports of several different repair issues at the property, as well as providing details of the damp and mould work it had carried out. The resident did not escalate his complaint following the landlord’s response, so it is not referred to during this investigation. 

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

  1. It is unclear when the resident first reported to the landlord there was damp and mould in the property. The landlord’s records show its surveyor carried out an inspection on 7 December 2022. The surveyor found mould in the property, but no damp. The surveyor said there was adequate ventilation, but did not give a reason for the mould. They recommended the landlord arrange a mould wash and stain blocking.
  2. Landlords need to make sure their homes are safe, warm, and free from hazards. When a resident reports a risk such as damp and mould, the landlord should quickly inspect the property to check for hazards. They must determine if the home is safe and fit to live in. Ignoring hazards can lead to serious consequences for everyone involved.
  3. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states it should carry out an inspection of the property within 10 days of it being reported. The landlord classes damp and mould as a non-urgent repair. It aims to complete non-urgent repairs within 20 working days. It says it aims to find a resolution to the damp and mould issue within 6 weeks. Following completion of works, the landlord’s policy says it should contact the resident at 3, 6, and 12-month intervals to check if there is still damp and mould.
  4. The landlord’s contractors completed a mould wash and stain blocking at the property on 1 February 2023. The timeframe taken to complete the works was outside of the landlord’s repairs policy timescale. There is no record the landlord contacted the resident post works in accordance with the timescales set out in its policy. 
  5. On 21 November 2023 the resident called the landlord. He said there was still mould in the property. The landlord took no immediate action in response to these reports.
  6. The resident complained to the landlord on 12 December 2023. He said both he and his partner had coughs which were made worse by the mould. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 19 December 2023.
  7. The landlord emailed the resident on 16 January 2024. It apologised for not replying to his complaint. It said it would send its response within 10 working days.
  8. A surveyor inspected the property on 31 January 2024. The time taken to respond was outside of the landlord’s 10-day response timescale for when mould is reported, as set out in its policy. The surveyor said there was mould in the property. The landlord recorded it would complete a further mould wash and stain block, and 3 extractor fans at the property would be replaced. It told the resident it would start work on 23 February 2024. The landlord has not been able to provide evidence of those works being completed.
  9. The landlord sent its response at stage 1 of its complaints process to the resident on 15 April 2024. It upheld his complaint. It apologised for the delay in taking action regarding his reports of mould. It said a surveyor would inspect the property again on 24 April 2024. It offered £185 compensation. This was broken down as follows:
    1. £100 for the inconvenience caused.
    2. £50 for the delays in completing a repair.
    3. £20 for its service failure.
    4. £15 for its poor communication.
  10. A review of the landlord’s complaint response shows it accepted there had been failings with its response to the resident’s reports of mould in the property. It apologised for the delay in taking action and offered compensation. However, the landlords offer of £185 compensation was not reflective of the delays and the lack of action taken to get to root cause of the on-going mould issue since at least December 2022.
  11. There is no record the property was inspected on 24 April 2024. There is also no evidence the landlord took any further action to address the mould issue at that time. 
  12. The resident called the landlord on 2 July 2024. He said he did not accept the compensation offer and wanted to escalate the complaint. He told it the matter had caused him and his partner extreme stress, and it affected their mental health. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 25 July 2024.
  13. The resident called the landlord on 30 July 2024. He said there was still mould in the property. The landlord arranged for the property to be inspected on 19 August 2024. However, on 21 August 2024 it recorded the surveyor had been unable to contact the resident to arrange the survey. The landlord emailed the resident the same day. It said the surveyor had not been able to contact him.
  14. The landlord spoke to the resident on 16 September 2024. He said he remained unhappy as there was still damp and mould in the property. It told him it would arrange to inspect the property.
  15. The landlord’s records show its maintenance team were not able to gain access the property on 17 and 26 September 2024. It is not recorded if those were prearranged visits. The landlord tried to call the resident on 18 October 2024, but it was unsuccessful.
  16. On 18 October 2024 the landlord also sent its stage 2 complaint response to the resident. It did not uphold his complaint. It said it had been unsuccessful when it tried to gain access to the property in August and September 2024. It said it appreciated his frustration with the ongoing issues, but the lack of communication and the missed surveyor appointment had contributed to the delays. It added it was aware he and his partner had communication difficulties, so its housing service manager would provide them with support. The landlord’s records show it had been aware the resident had learning difficulties since 2013.
  17. A review of the landlord’s complaint response shows it said it had tried to arrange action. It stated the delays were down to it not gaining access to the property. However, it did not address that prior to any access issue, it took 6 weeks to attempt to inspect the property from when the escalated complaint was made in July 2024. It also failed to account for a further 2–month delay since the survey was meant to take place, and it had not rearranged it. The landlord acknowledged the resident had communication difficulties and offered support for that, but there is no evidence it tried to support the resident prior to this in arranging the survey. The failure to recognise its shortcomings in its complaint response was unreasonable.
  18. The Equality Act 2010 provides a discrimination law to protect individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The Act provides a legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals with protected characteristics from unfair treatment. Under the Act, the landlord has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments where there is a provision, criterion or practice which puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter in comparison with persons who are not disabled.
  19. Having identified the resident had specific requirements in relation to his communication needs, it is reasonable to expect the landlord should have identified the potential to utilise reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to navigate the complaints process. It’s failure to do so was unreasonable.  
  20. The resident contacted us on 8 November 2024. He said he was not happy with the landlord’s response to his complaint.
  21. The landlord’s records show it attempted to arrange inspection of the property in November 2024. The appointments were cancelled by the resident due to his partner being ill. There is no evidence the landlord tried to rearrange.
  22. The resident’s GP sent letters to the landlord on 11 December 2024 and 15 January 2025. They said the resident’s partner had a persistent cough since May 2024 which was aggravated by sleeping in a bedroom with damp and mould. They said the matter was causing her stress. The landlord took no action to contact the resident to seek to address the damp and mould issue. 
  23. The landlord’s records say it completed outstanding works in February 2025. However, it has not provided evidence of any work being completed. The resident has told us no action was taken. The landlord also recorded on 21 February 2025 it would complete an inspection of the property. It did not do so.
  24. When a failure is identified, as in this case, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be Fair, Put Things Right and Learn from Outcomes as well as our own guidance on remedies.
  25. The evidence shows the landlord inspected the property in December 2022 and January 2024, and it completed mould washes in February 2023 and February 2024. The time to complete these works was outside of the landlord’s policy response timescale. The damp and mould issue remained, but the landlord did not follow up to check, or find the root cause, as its policy says it should.
  26. The landlord offered £185 compensation in April 2024 for the delays in taking action. This amount was not reflective the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays and the inconvenience caused by the failures to address the ongoing issue with damp and mould. The problem continued. In its escalated complaint response, sent in October 2024, the landlord said the lack of contact with the resident in trying to arrange works had contributed to delays. Although the lack of access did add to the time taken, the landlord failed to acknowledge it had not arranged to inspect the property again within its policy timescales. The landlord also said it was aware the resident had difficulties communicating, but there is no evidence it took that into account when trying to arrange the inspection or works to be completed. The landlord has not provided evidence it considered making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to communicate with the resident in light of his protected characteristics.
  27. The landlord failed to fully consider the impact of its delays in its stage 2 response, and it did not offer any further compensation, which was unreasonable given the significant impact of living with damp and mould for a prolonged period was having on the resident and his partner. The landlord showed a lack of empathy to a vulnerable resident in its handling of a long-running and potentially hazardous situation. The landlord has not provided evidence of the action taken since to complete the outstanding works regarding treating the damp and mould, which the resident said is still present.
  28. In summary, the landlord’s compensation offer of £185 made in its stage 1 complaint response was insufficient to put right the impact caused by the delays and inconvenience the resident has experienced since making his complaint. This leads to a determination of maladministration. An order for increased compensation has been made below.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It aims to respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of acknowledging them and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
  2. The resident made a complaint to the landlord on 12 December 2023. It acknowledged the complaint on 19 December 2023. This was within its policy timescale.
  3. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 15 April 2024. This was over 5 months since he made the complaint and was inappropriate due to being significantly outside of its policy timescales to respond. It offered £50 compensation for the delay in replying to his complaint.
  4. On 2 July 2024 the resident told the landlord he wanted to escalate his complaint. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 25 July 2024. This was not within its policy timescale. 
  5. On 18 October 2024 the landlord sent its stage 2 complaint to the resident. This was over 3 months since he made the complaint and was outside of its policy response timescale. The landlord acknowledged the delay and offered a further £150 compensation for its poor complaint handling. 
  6. The overall compensation offered by the landlord was in line with an amount consistent with what would be awarded by us using the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. It fairly reflected the impact caused by the landlord’s failures and was a reasonable offer of redress in the circumstances. As such, this leads to a determination of reasonable redress, in that the landlord had attempted to put things right for the resident for its complaint handling failings. 

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress by the landlord in its complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay £600 compensation to the resident. The landlord may deduct the sum of £385 awarded as part of its internal complaints service process, if already paid. The balance should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against any rent or service charge account. The compensation is broken down as follows:
      1. £400 for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
      2. £200 in recognition of the complaint handling failures and the time, trouble and inconvenience caused to the resident.
    3. Arrange to survey the property, and if required produce a schedule of works for any outstanding damp and mould related repairs. Any works identified should be scheduled to start within 4 weeks of the survey. A copy of the schedule, and/or the results of the survey should be shared with both the resident and this Service.