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Stonewater Limited (202403118)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202403118

Stonewater Limited

1 February 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 and her request for compensation.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association since December 2021. The property is a 2-bedroom ground floor flat. The resident lives at the property with her 2 children.
  2. The resident reported an issue with damp and mould on 8 September 2022. The landlord attended her property in October 2022, replacing the bathroom extractor fan. She reported further issues of damp and mould in November 2022, January 2023, August 2023, and November 2023. The landlord attended after most reports, completing a damp and mould inspection in November 2023. This recommended mould washes and an upgrade to the resident’s bathroom extractor fan.
  3. The resident complained to the landlord on 5 December 2023, requesting reimbursement for items she had replaced due to mould damage. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 19 January 2024. It acknowledged and apologised for not implementing recommendations made in the November inspection. It advised that it had now raised works to implement the recommendations. The landlord offered compensation of £475, which included £75 for the delay in its stage 1 response.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint on 22 January 2024, as she was dissatisfied with the resolution and compensation offered. The landlord completed a specialist damp and mould survey on 7 March 2024, which recommended a number of repairs. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 4 April 2024. It acknowledged that there had been failings in its repair handling and service. It said it had instructed its contractor to complete the work it had identified. The landlord offered additional compensation of £922.16, which included £125 for the delay in its stage 2 response.
  5. The resident requested that the Ombudsman investigate her complaint on 24 May 2024. She explained she was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and compensation. She said that damp and mould was impacting her children’s health and that she had to throw away furniture due to mould damage. The resident advised us on 20 December 2024 that the landlord had not resolved the issue, as she still has damp and mould issues at her property.
  6. The landlord advised us on 2 January 2025 that it had instructed its contractor to complete the recommendations from its specialist damp and mould survey.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. As part of her complaint to the Ombudsman the resident said that her family’s health has been affected by the presence of damp and mould within her home. The Ombudsman is unable to assess the cause of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. The resident may be able to make a personal injury claim if she considers that her health has been affected by the landlord’s actions or inaction. This is a legal process, and the resident may wish to seek legal advice if she wants to pursue this option. It will not be considered in this report.

 Policy and procedure

  1. The landlord introduced a damp, mould, and condensation process in August 2021, which became part of its damp and mould policy in April 2023. Its process included completion of all remedial works and a follow up survey to ensure adequate completion. In addition, it included a 6-month follow up to ensure any issues had been fully resolved and, where necessary, further interventions.
  2. The landlord’s compensation policy at the time of the resident’s complaint stated that where damage to personal belongings has occurred, the resident should submit a claim through their own content’s insurer. If they do not have contents insurance, they may be able to submit a claim to the landlord, which its insurer would assess. Where a resident does not have insurance and cannot afford to replace lost essential items, it will offer support with grant applications.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and her request for compensation

  1. The evidence shows that the resident reported issues related to damp and mould in September 2022, November 2022, January 2023, November 2023, and December 2023. The landlord responded to each of the resident’s reports by completing an inspection within 28 days. This resulted in the landlord taking steps such as replacing an extractor fan and completing mould washes.
  2. However, the resident reported an ongoing issue with condensation on her windows on 2 August 2023. There is no evidence that the landlord took any steps to investigate this further at this time. This was not in line with its policy.
  3. In addition, the landlord has provided no evidence that it proactively completed a 6-month follow up to ensure that it had resolved the issue. This was not in line with its policy.
  4. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 1 response that there had been failures in its handling of the repairs. These included not increasing the size of the bathroom extractor fan as recommended from a visit in November 2023. In addition, it had not arranged a specialist damp and mould survey as recommended in November 2023. The landlord apologised for these failures, which was appropriate.
  5. Following its stage 1 response in January 2024, the landlord replaced the bathroom extractor fan and completed the damp and mould survey on 7 March 2024. It was appropriate for the landlord to complete the actions its stage 1 complaint response had recognised were still outstanding.
  6. The survey completed on 7 March 2024 confirmed the presence of mould at a “moderate” level, caused by condensation and penetrating damp. It recommended remedial works to the exterior and interior of the property, including in the living room, both bedrooms, hallway, bathroom, and kitchen. The landlord instructed its contractor on 25 March 2024 to assess and quote for the work recommended from this survey.
  7. In its stage 2 response in April 2024 the landlord explained that it had raised a work order to its contractor to complete cavity wall insulation work. Its contractor subsequently identified an issue on 9 February 2024 with a neighbouring property’s cavity wall insulation that could be impacting the resident’s property.
  8. In the same response, the landlord acknowledged the resident had reported condensation problems in early 2023, in response to which it had identified in February 2023 the need to replace two panes of glass. It acknowledged it had not yet done so and that this was a failure. It said that it would contact the resident in the coming days to arrange an appointment.
  9. It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge and apologise for its mistakes. In addition, it was appropriate for the landlord to explain what actions it was taking to put things right going forward. However, the landlord did not comment on or provided any information about what actions it intended to take from its survey on 7 March 2024. That survey had identified a wide range of issues, and the landlord missed an opportunity to explain the issues and recommendations. This left the resident unaware of all the actions the landlord was taking to resolve the issue.
  10. The landlord offered the resident compensation totalling £1,422.16 for its poor repair handling, service failures and their impact. It acknowledged that it had not provided a timely resolution to the resident’s concerns, increasing the distress caused to her. The compensation offered by the landlord was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance in circumstances where there have been repeated failings and a significant impact, but where the landlord has acknowledged its mistakes and attempted to put things right. It reasonably reflected the length of time the repair issues had continued unresolved and demonstrated the landlord’s appreciation of the scale of its failings. If the landlord had gone on to complete all the outstanding repairs within a reasonable timescale, the remedies it offered would likely have been sufficient to resolve the complaint.
  11. The landlord’s records show that it recorded on 19 September 2024 that it had completed all works. The Service asked the landlord if this included all the remedial work recommended by its specialist damp and mould survey and replaced the two panes of glass. In response, it provided a breakdown of the works completed by its contractor.
  12. This shows the scope of works that its contractor created. However, it does not show that any work was due to be completed in bedroom 2 or with the cavity wall insulation. In addition, it is unclear whether the work included fixing an issue with the flooring joint between the hallway and bathroom or replacing the kitchen extractor fan. This was all recommended work from the survey in March 2024. Furthermore, the scope of works did not include replacing the 2 glass panes.
  13. While the landlord’s complaint responses were reasonable at the time, the landlord has not provided evidence that it has subsequently completed the work agreed in its final response or provided an explanation as to why work is still outstanding.
  14. The resident requested that the landlord reimburse her for items damaged by damp and mould in her stage 1 and 2 complaints. She explained at both stages that she had thrown away essential item, such as her children’s beds and wardrobes. She explained that her and her children were now all having to sleep in 1 bed.
  15. In its stage 1 and 2 responses, the landlord acknowledged and apologised for any hardship caused due to the resident replacing damaged items, such as bedding and clothing. However, its compensation did not include this element, and it did not advise her to claim on her own insurance or check whether she actually had contents insurance (and therefore could potentially claim on the landlord’s insurance). In addition, as the resident had lost essential items that she could not afford to replace, the landlord should have supported her with grant applications. All of these actions were set out in the landlord’s compensation policy and could have possibly provided the resident with some of the support she was asking for.
  16. Overall, there were failings in the landlords handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and her request for reimbursement of damaged items. This caused the resident distress, worry and inconvenience over a prolonged period. In its responses to her complaints the landlord took appropriate steps to acknowledge, apologise and compensate for its failures. However, the landlord did not follow its policy in relation to the resident’s damaged belongings and has not completed all the remedial work required to address damp and mould at the resident’s home. This has caused the resident further distress and inconvenience.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and her request for compensation.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord must pay the resident compensation of £1,822.16. This is comprised of:
    1. £1,422.16 already offered in its complaint responses.
    2. £150 for its failure to follow its process regarding the resident’s claim for damaged belongings.
    3. £250 for the further delays completing the work promised in its final complaint response and recommended from its survey in March 2024.
  2. The landlord must reconsider the resident’s request for assistance with her damaged belongings in line with its compensation policy or provide details to the resident of its insurer. It must write to the resident within 8 weeks of this determination explaining its decision, including whether it can help her make grant applications.
  3. The current state of the work from the damp and mould survey and the glass replacement is not clear. Within 6 weeks, the landlord must undertake a post-work inspection to confirm that the relevant work identified in its complaint responses and the survey is now complete. If the work is not complete, the landlord must provide a schedule of work which explains how it will complete the outstanding work.
  4. Evidence of compliance with these orders must be provided to the Ombudsman by the relevant deadlines.