Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her reports of damp, mould and high humidity in her rented property, nor its failure to protect her from harassment by her landlord. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her reports of damp, mould and high humidity in her social housing property. She said it delayed for nine months in carrying out an inspection and its inspection was inadequate. She also complained the Council had refused to carry out a further inspection because she was not living in the property.
2. Ms X said Council failings had caused her distress and disruption, and meant she was currently homeless and facing financial hardship because she had to fund alternative accommodation as the conditions on her social housing were affecting her health to the extent she could no longer live there.
3. In a further complaint to the Council, after her complaint to us, she also added the Council had failed to protect her from harassment by her landlord.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

7. Ms X initially contacted the Council about damp and mould in her social housing in December 2023. The Council contacted her landlord, which reported it was carrying out works and considering further works.
8. The Council offered a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspection in April 2024, which Ms X declined because she said she wanted the landlord to carry out a damp inspection it had promised.
9. From August 2024, Ms X moved out of the property and the Council again offered to carry out an inspection. In the meantime, the landlord carried out further inspections and works.
10. The Council carried out an HHSRS inspection in September 2024 but found no disrepair. It raised concerns about the ventilation systems in the property with the landlord, and the landlord agreed there were now too many mixed systems due to repeated reports of damp and mould. It added that the various assessments had led it to conclude the high humidity levels were due to geographical factors external to the property.
11. In October 2024, Ms X asked for a further HHSRS inspection, which the Council declined on the basis the property did not pose a risk to her health because she was not living there. It said it would carry out a further inspection if she had moved back in.
12. By this point, Ms X’s GP had written to raise concerns about the impact of the humidity in the property on Ms X’s health. Therefore, the landlord considered it more appropriate to assist Ms X to move to a suitable alternative property rather than carry out work works that were not guaranteed to reduce humidity levels to expected levels. From October 2024, the landlord offered Ms X alternative properties, but she declined them. In January 2025, it told the Council it was considering steps to evict her from the property. In a further complaint response in March 2025 the Council explained it had not identified any harassment that would justify enforcement action against the landlord.

My assessment

13. Councils have a duty to take enforcement action against landlords where category 1 hazards have been identified following an HHSRS inspection. Councils also have powers to investigate complaints about harassment and illegal eviction.
14. In this case, there was a delay between December 2023 and April 2024 in offering an HHSRS inspection, but Council records show it was in contact with the landlord and was satisfied the landlord was taking appropriate action to address the issues Ms X had reported. In any case, Ms X declined the offer when it was made in April 2024. Therefore, there is insufficient injustice caused by any delay in this period to justify further investigation.
15. Between April and September 2024, the Council continued to monitor the action the landlord was taking. In September 2024, it carried out an HHSRS inspection. It did not identify any category 1 hazards so was not under a duty to take enforcement action. It did raise concerns about the ventilation systems in the property with the landlord, which was appropriate. It explained it could not take enforcement action retrospectively. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council carried out its HHSRS inspection or considered its enforcement powers to justify further investigation.
16. The Council was entitled to refuse to carry out a fresh inspection in October 2024 because there was no risk to Ms X’s health as she was not living there, and it had not identified any hazards a month earlier that would suggest she could not return home. There is insufficient evidence of fault in its decision-making to warrant further investigation.
17. Subsequently, having considered information from Ms X’s G.P, the landlord decided a move was more appropriate because it could not guarantee further work would bring humidity levels down to the level Ms X needed to be able to live there, especially given it had concluded the high humidity may be caused by factors outside the property. As Ms X did not accept offers of alternative housing, and was not living there, it decided to take steps to evict her. We cannot consider the actions of the social landlord as this is outside our remit. Further, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council decided not to exercise its powers in relation to harassment or illegal eviction by the landlord to justify further investigation.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing sufficient injustice to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman