Complaints / Ombudsman

The CWAG General Meeting in May 2022 considered the damp and mould report alongside the issue of disrepair claims. The presentation by Rebecca Reed (Head of Insight and Development at the Housing Ombudsman Service ) discussed some of the issues flagged up by the Ombudsman’s thematic damp and mould investigation.

The damp and mould theme was chosen because of the high volume and complexity of complaints received by the Ombudsman and the severe impact on residents. The objective being to identify common issues and shared learning that can be used to drive improvement.

Cases tend to have complex causes e.g. structural issues, age and design of buildings as well as lifestyle factors and external pressures such as fuel poverty and the increasing cost of energy. Even where landlords seek to improve thermal comfort through increased insulation, this can be counterproductive causing condensation.

A change in landlord culture is required involving a proactive rather than a reactive approach, which is fabric focussed rather than resident focussed. For example, if one resident in a block has a problem, it is likely to be more widespread and the landlord should not wait for a formal complaint before acting. There is software available that can predict from the property profile whether there is likely to be a damp and mould problem.

Fatalism is not ok – there should be a zero tolerance of poor conditions although some situations may not be fixable and alternative solutions may be needed. Landlords need to take responsibility recognising that sometimes the building sets residents up to fail.

The response to the report has highlighted that some groups / demographics do not feel confident to report issues. Landlords are encouraged to ‘find your silence’ i.e. those tenants who are not raising issues or using complaints arrangements. Residents remain the best source of feedback.

Landlords should also sell their successes and publicise what they are doing positively to tackle damp and mould. Many still view it as an admission of failure to admit to having damp issues in the stock.

There are governance issues for Boards to ensure they are setting the correct positive proactive complaints culture for the organisation. For example, does the Governance Board consider complaints cases and is the Board curious about cases that have gone awry?

This Housing Ombudsman Service Spotlight Report is part of the Spotlight Report series. It focusses on complaints relating to heating, hot water and energy related issues which regularly make up a significant element of the Ombudsman’s case load. The report identifies unnecessary delays in resolving issues along with management of contractors as key issues of concern.

This Housing Ombudsman Service Spotlight Report brings together the findings from an extensive review of casework relating to damp and mould and responses from a call for evidence.

The report highlights a general sense of frustration among residents who felt that landlords don’t take their repair reports or complaints seriously. There are clear impacts for the residents affected with distress and inconvenience reported together with concerns about health and well-being.

The report also recognises the challenges for landlords in tackling damp and mould issues – including overcrowding, poverty, the age and design of homes. However, landlords should avoid inferring blame on residents due to ‘lifestyle’ when it is often not solely their issue or within their control. Landlords should take responsibility for resolving problems:

“instead of seeing how the lifestyle needs to be adapted to suit the property – how can the property be adapted to suit the lifestyle.” Insight from the Call for Evidence

Addressing damp and mould needs to be a higher priority for landlords, with a change in culture from reactive to proactive essential to improve the experience of residents. In support of this the report makes 26 recommendations for landlords including:

• greater use of intelligence and data to prevent issues developing and escalating
• adopting a clear, comprehensive and consolidated policy for dealing with damp and mould cases
• reviewing communications with residents to improve tone
• improving access to complaints to resolve issues, including alongside disrepair claims, and learn from them.

The report also proposes landlords do not close their complaints procedure prematurely if a resident commences with the pre-action protocol as the Ombudsman does not consider the use of the protocol to constitute legal proceedings. This will maximise the opportunities to resolve disputes potentially sooner through the complaints process and in a less adversarial way.