Summary: Mrs X complains the Council delayed repairs to damp and mould affecting her temporary accommodation. We do not find fault with the Council for delay.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council significantly delayed repairs to damp and mould in the bathroom of her temporary accommodation.
2. Mrs X would like the Council to apologise and recognise the distress caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I reviewed the information Mrs X provided.
6. I made enquiries with the Council, considered its response and reviewed the relevant law.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Suitability of temporary accommodation

8. Temporary accommodation is accommodation provided to homeless applicants as part of a council’s main homelessness duty.
9. There is limited permanent accommodation available so people must wait, sometimes for years, for permanent housing. Therefore, while someone waits, they must be housed in suitable temporary accommodation. (s.193, Housing Act 1996)
10. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
11. Councils must assess whether accommodation is suitable for each household individually. Whether accommodation is suitable will depend on the relevant needs and circumstances of the homeless person and their household. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.4 & 17.9)

Council’s complaint procedure

12. The Council will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within two working days, and respond to the stage one complaint within ten working days.
13. If unhappy then the complainant can send a stage two complaint within one month of the stage one response. The Council will respond within 20 working days.

What happened

14. This is a brief outline of the complaint and is not meant to include all events and communications between Mrs X and the Council.
15. Mrs X lives in temporary accommodation with her husband and four children. Mrs X and her children all have health conditions.
16. Mrs X complained to the management agents about mould and damp in her bathroom on 18 April 2023, and they inspected it on 20 April. The builder identified mould in the bathroom caused by condensation, and told Mrs X to leave the window open as much as possible and to keep the bathroom fan on.
17. Mrs X complained again in June and the builder identified the condensation again, saying during his inspection the window was closed and the fan off. On the 17 August the builder carried out a mould treatment and the managers said there were no further complaints.
18. Mrs X complained to the Council in July. In response to our enquiries the Council say this was the first time it was aware of the issue. It told the managing agents on 9 August who were already aware. The managing agents told the Council on 17 August it had removed the mould in the bathroom and applied an antifungal treatment, and painted the room.
19. The Council agreed with the complaint in the stage one response dated 24 August and confirmed completion of the repairs.
20. Mrs X made a stage two complaint in late August, saying the stage one response was late, she had to wait for the repairs, and the damp and mould were affecting her children’s health issues.
21. In the complaint response the Council:
• Apologised for the late stage one response. It was two weeks late. The delay was due to waiting for the repair work, however the Council should have advised Mrs X of this.
• The target timescale for repairs is 28 days and the repairs were carried out within this time frame so it did not uphold this aspect of Mrs X’s complaint.
22. Mrs X was unhappy with the response from the Council so she brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

23. The Council were aware of the mould when Mrs X made her complaint on 25 July. She had complained previously to the management agents but they had not informed the Council.
24. The repairs were carried out within the Council’s 28-day timescale, so I do not find fault with the Council for delay.
25. There was a delay with the first complaint response from the Council which is fault. However the apology given is an appropriate remedy and there is no injustice as the repairs had already been carried out.
26. I therefore make no further recommendations for remedies from the Council.

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Final decision

I do not find fault with the Council for delay in repairs to Mrs X’s temporary accommodation. There was slight delay in the Council’s complaint response, but this has not caused Mrs X any injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman