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Thirteen Housing Group Limited (202414559)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202414559

Thirteen Housing Group Limited

30 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 reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as a secure tenant since 1982. The property is a 3-bedroom house.
  2. On 16 December 2022, the resident reported damp and mould in her home. In response the landlord arranged a survey and found it needed to do work. Before it could do the work, the landlord needed to arrange an asbestos survey. This took place on 8 March 2023.
  3. The resident contacted the landlord on 20 November 2023 about unresolved damp and mould. A survey on 4 December 2023 recommended the landlord top-up loft insulation, investigate the damp proof course, and fit ventilation. A further survey on 12 December 2023 recommended installing a waterproof barrier in some ground floor rooms.
  4. The resident complained on 7 February 2024 that she had waited over a year to have the work done. She wanted to know when the landlord would do the work and an explanation for the delay.
  5. In its complaint response on 15 February 2024, the landlord apologised for the delay. It said its records showed that following the first survey it passed the work to a contractor. But when the resident contacted it in November 2023, it could find no records of what happened after that. It said it then did other surveys and raised work that would take place in February and March 2024. It offered £350 for delays.
  6. Following the complaint response, the landlord had to reschedule some work as the contractor was not available in February 2024. It rescheduled the work for May 2024.
  7. The resident escalated her complaint on 5 April 2024 due to further delays. She declined the offer of compensation until the landlord completed all the work.
  8. In its final response on 23 May 2024, the landlord acknowledged the first report of damp and mould was on 16 December 2022. It said work booked for February 2024 did not happen as scheduled because it had not made the contractor aware of the extent of work. It apologised that poor record-keeping and communication had caused delays. It said it would inspect the work once complete and discuss compensation.
  9. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman. She said the landlord finished work in the kitchen and toilet but there was still damp in the living room. She said she wanted compensation for the disruption and decoration.
  10. Following contact with the resident, the landlord offered £1000 compensation in September 2024, which the resident accepted.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident complained about damage to decoration. After considering the evidence, in line with paragraph 42.f of the Scheme, the Ombudsman cannot consider this part of the complaint. This is because the Scheme says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which “concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, other tribunal or procedure.” This means it is not within the Ombudsman’s expertise to award damages in the way an insurance procedure or court might. However, the Ombudsman can look at how the landlord responded to the reports of damage to decoration and whether it acted reasonably.

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs

  1. The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) for repairing the structure of the property. This means the landlord has a general obligation to repair the property. The landlord’s repairs policy confirms it will meet its legal obligations.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy says it gives repairs a priority that reflects the urgency. It says it aims to do “appointable” repairs within 28 days, and planned repairs within 60 working days. It says it considers the effect the repair has on the health and wellbeing of residents when deciding response times.
  3. The landlord has information on its website about how it has dealt with reports of damp and mould since December 2023. It says it puts reports of damp and mould in 4 categories:
    1. Category 1: severe and widespread damp and mould in a number of rooms used for either living, sleeping, or cooking.
    2. Category 2: a moderate amount of condensation, damp, and/or mould in one or more rooms used for either living, sleeping, or cooking.
    3. Category 3: a minor amount of damp and/or mould in a small area, in a number of rooms
    4. Category 4: condensation, with no damp or mould.
  4. The landlord says following the first report, it will categorise the urgency of an appointment. For severe cases, it will attend within 24 hours, moderate cases within 3 working days, and minor cases within 7 working days. During the appointment, it will check what work it needs to do and will book a further appointment to treat damp and mould. It aims to complete all recommended work within 90 days.
  5. Records provided by the landlord show the resident first reported damp and mould on 16 December 2022. The information provided is unclear on what steps the landlord then took. However, records show that on 7 February 2023 it requested an inspection of the kitchen, which took place on 15 February 2025. This found it needed to do work, but before it could do the work, it needed to do an asbestos survey. This took place on 8 March 2023.
  6. The records provided by the landlord from this time are not complete, and because of this the Ombudsman cannot decide whether the landlord responded reasonably after the first report.
  7. However, the landlord accepted in its final complaint response that it did not follow up the work it needed to do after the asbestos survey. It apologised for the failure and said it had no record of why it did not do repairs after the asbestos survey. It explained it received an “unprecedented” number of damp and mould reports at this time, and its systems could not cope. It said this meant in some cases it did not raise work, or it passed it to a contractor but did not follow up. It said in June 2023, it created a damp and mould team and put in place processes to ensure it logged all repairs and surveys, and set deadlines, which meant it could chase jobs.
  8. The Ombudsman has found this was a significant failure by the landlord, as it left the resident living with damp and mould for almost 12 months after her first report. The Ombudsman accepts the landlord acknowledged this failure in its final response and it explained what it had done to improve the way it dealt with reports of damp and mould.
  9. The records provided by the landlord show the next contact from the resident about damp and mould was on 20 November 2023, which was 8 months after the asbestos survey. It is unclear from the information provided whether the resident contacted the landlord about damp and mould between March and November 2023. Because of this, the Ombudsman cannot comment on how the landlord dealt with any reports during this period.
  10. Following contact from the resident on 20 November 2023, the landlord’s damp and mould team tried to call the resident on 21 November 2023. The resident contacted the landlord again on 22 November 2023, and the landlord arranged for a surveyor to attend on 4 December 2023. As the resident reported damp and mould on 20 November 2023, just before the new timescales came into place, the Ombudsman cannot comment on whether the landlord met its standards. However, considering the first report was a year before, the Ombudsman would expect the landlord to act with urgency.
  11. The resident raised concerns about the number of surveys that took place. In its final response the landlord accepted that surveyors had attended before and acknowledged this was frustrating for the resident. It explained that as there were no records from after the first report, it needed to do another survey to find out what work it needed to do. The Ombudsman agrees that it was reasonable for the landlord to arrange a further survey in the circumstances. It was positive the landlord acknowledged the frustration caused.
  12. The survey found the landlord needed to top-up loft insulation, do a cavity wall survey, investigate the damp proof course, replace the kitchen fan, and install a new bathroom fan. The landlord booked in work on loft insulation for 27 March 2024 and arranged to fit fans on 20 March 2024.
  13. The resident said she was concerned the landlord had not inspected damp in her kitchen cupboards. Because of this, the landlord arranged another survey for 12 December 2023. This found it needed to do “tanking work” to the kitchen and living room walls. The landlord raised this work on 30 January 2024 and passed it to a contractor. The Ombudsman has noted the landlord passed the work to a contractor over 2 months after the report on 20 November 2023.
  14. However, the first contractor was unable to do the work. The landlord then passed the work to a second contractor, and it booked in 2 days work, starting on 26 February 2024. However, the second contractor did not do the work as arranged. In its final response, the landlord explained this was because it was a new contractor that was setting up its working arrangements, and it did not have the resources to do the work. The landlord rearranged the tanking work for 13 May 2024.
  15. Records show the landlord completed work on loft insulation and fans as agreed. However, there was a delay to the tanking work until May 2024. The landlord says it aims to complete all recommended damp and mould work within 90 days. As the landlord found it needed to do work on 12 December 2023, it should have done this work by the middle of March 2024. In its final response the landlord acknowledged poor communication caused the delays. It apologised for the effect the delays had on the resident and said it would discuss compensation once it had done all work.
  16. As well as communication failures, records appear to show the landlord did not have a clear and up-to-date understanding of its contractor’s ability to deliver repairs on its behalf. It is the Ombudsman’s view, based on the information provided, that the landlord was unaware of the ability of 2 contractors to do the work. This caused frustration for the resident, who had already waited over a year for the landlord to do the work.
  17. When the landlord sent its final response on 23 May 2024, it confirmed a contractor started tanking work in the kitchen on 13 May 2024, and it aimed to finish this by 24 May 2024. It also said it had previously told the resident it needed to do tanking works in the living room and bathroom. It said having reviewed the situation, the damp and mould in these rooms was minor and tanking was “an extreme fix”. It said instead it had treated the mould in these areas and if any mould returned, it would look to do further work.
  18. Following the final response, the resident raised concerns about damp and mould in the bathroom. The landlord arranged for work in the bathroom to start on 8 July 2024. It was reasonable for the landlord to do this work as the problem of damp and mould persisted. The Ombudsman is not able to decide whether tanking work was an “extreme fix” in May 2024 and what changed 2 months after the landlord’s final response. However, the Ombudsman has noted the work was part of the survey recommendations in December 2023. The Ombudsman would expect the landlord to seek the advice of a surveyor or damp specialist before changing the approach it agreed with the resident.
  19. Following completion of work on the bathroom, the landlord discussed compensation with the resident and offered £800 in July 2024. The resident declined this as she said it did not recognise the failings and the effect the delays had on her. In September 2024, after discussion with the resident, the landlord offered £1,000, which the resident accepted. The Ombudsman has not seen a breakdown of how the landlord arrived at this figure.
  20. The Ombudsman has found there were significant failures by the landlord in the way it dealt with the reports of damp and mould. In December 2022, the landlord responded appropriately by arranging work. However, it did not follow up the work it needed to do. It acknowledged it had system failures, which was why it did not follow up the work. It said it had put in place new procedures from June 2023. However, when the resident contacted the landlord almost a year after the first report, it took the landlord a further 6 months to do work in the kitchen and 8 months to do work in the bathroom. During this time, the resident, who has breathing conditions, was living in a property with significant damp and mould and was concerned about the effect on her health.
  21. The Ombudsman recognises the landlord made a significant offer of compensation after its final response and offered decoration vouchers. It was reasonable for the landlord to offer the vouchers. However, in deciding this case, we have considered the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the considerable time taken to complete the repairs was maladministration by the landlord. As well as inconvenience and distress caused, the resident also experienced a loss of enjoyment of her home as her kitchen, bathroom, and living room were all affected by damp and mould.
  22. Because of this, it is the Ombudsman’s view the compensation offered was insufficient in the circumstances. The Ombudsman has determined the landlord must pay £150 compensation for inconvenience and £150 for distress caused. The landlord must also compensate the resident for loss of enjoyment of her home for the period when it did not resolve the damp and mould. The resident has not told the Ombudsman she was unable to use any specific room. However, there was damp and mould in 3 rooms. Because of this, compensation for loss of enjoyment is based on 20% of rent from 15 March 2023, which was 90 days after the first report, until 8 July 2024 when the landlord did work on the bathroom. The compensation is inclusive of the £1,000 already offered.
  23. Records provided by the landlord show weekly rent was £79.85 from 15 to 31 March 2023, £85.42 from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and £92.07 from 1 April 2024 to 8 July 2024. The landlord must pay compensation as follows:
    1. 2 weeks at 20% of £79.85 = £31.94.
    2. 52 weeks at 20% of £85.42 = £888.37.
    3. 14 weeks at 20% of £92.07 = £257.80.
    4. £150 for inconvenience caused.
    5. £150 for distress caused.
    6. Total = £1,478.11.
  24. In April 2025, the resident told the Ombudsman there was still a problem with damp in the living room. She said the landlord promised it would do a mould wash in the living room and do an inspection after it finished the repairs. She said it did neither of these. Because of this, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to contact the resident to arrange an inspection to identify whether there are any further problems with damp and mould.

Determination

  1. In line with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord on its handling of reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs.

Orders

  1. The landlord must apologise to the resident for the failures found in this report.
  2. The landlord must pay the resident £1,478.11 compensation for the failures found in this report. This is inclusive of the £1,000 already paid. It must pay compensation directly to the resident and not offset it against any arrears. This is made up of:
    1. £1,178.11 for loss of enjoyment of the home.
    2. £150 for inconvenience caused.
    3. £150 for distress caused.
  3. The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection to identify whether there are further problems with damp and mould. If any repair issues are identified, the landlord must make a plan for completing them.
  4. The landlord is to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report.