London Borough of Lambeth (23 020 068)

Category : Housing > Private housing

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 04 Nov 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to properly investigate or take appropriate action in relation to issues of disrepair in her privately rented property. We found the Council’s failure to inspect the reported disrepair at Miss X’s property in the Autumn of 2023 is fault. As is the failure to properly consider and record its decisions in relation to Miss X’s homelessness application. These faults have caused Miss X an injustice.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, Miss X complained the Council failed to properly investigate or take appropriate action in relation to issues of disrepair in her privately rented property.
  2. Miss Y also complained the Council failed to provide assistance or take a homelessness application when she advised a housing officer her home was unaffordable, uninhabitable, and affecting her health.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
  3. 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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

  1. Miss X complains of disrepair at her property over several years. However, as Miss X complained to the Ombudsman in March 2024, I have investigated events in the previous 12 months. In have not investigated events prior to March 2023 or events since Miss X complained to us.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

  1. As part of the investigation, I have:
    • considered the complaint and the documents provided by Miss X;
    • made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
    • discussed the issues with Miss X; and
    • Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Disrepair

  1. Miss X lived in a privately rented ground floor flat. In September 2023 Miss X contacted the Council to complain about damp, mould, and water damage in her home. Miss X said she had complained to the property’s managing agents, Company 1, but they were now ignoring her. She asserted Company 1’s previous attempts to resolve the damp problem were not satisfactory as the problem had recurred.
  2. An Environmental Health Officer (EHO) contacted Company 1 to confirm what action they had taken or were intending to take to resolve the damp and mould problem. Company 1 advised they had recently carried out extensive works to the property and provided invoices as evidence of the works. They said they had vastly improved the insulation and ventilation at the property but had not been made aware of any leaks coming from the flat above Miss X’s.
  3. In early December 2023 Miss X complained to Company 1 that the central heating for the block of flats had not worked property since the heating was turned on in October 2023. She also noted the kitchen sink and washing machine were filling with water again and advised the drain system needed to be unblocked. Miss X copied the EHO into her correspondence.
  4. Company 1 said they were surprised this had been a problem since October 2023 as they had not received any other complaints. They confirmed they would now monitor and address the situation.
  5. Miss X also made a formal complaint to the Council on the same day. She noted she had made several complaints to the managing agents and the Council about long term damp and mould in the block of flats.
  6. Miss X complained she had asked the Council to inspect her property as she was unable to use half her flat but the EHO had refused. She said the block of flats had not had a functioning heating system since October 2023 and there was an issue with blocked drains. Miss X also complained that tenants were experiencing thick, black mould, poor air quality, wet walls, and dripping ceilings from leaking toilets.
  7. On 14 December 2023 the EHO asked Miss X and Company 1 to confirm whether the damp and mould in Miss X’s property had now been resolved. Company 1 responded the same day and confirmed that all issues previously report by Miss X in relation to damp had been addressed.
  8. The following week Miss X confirmed to both Company 1 and the EHO that there was an ongoing leak from the flat above her own as the toilet was still broken and the broken pipes had not been repaired.
  9. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint in January 2024 and partly upheld her complaint. It had liaised with the managing agents who were aware that external repairs and decoration were required. The managing agents hoped to carry out these works in the summer months.
  10. Miss X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and asked for her complaint to be reviewed. She provided copy correspondence between the managing agents and the EHO in October 2023 regarding a leak from the flat above. Miss X was unhappy the EHO closed the file in December 2023 without checking the necessary works had been completed. Miss X had spoken to the tenant of the flat above her own who had confirmed their toilet was broken and leaking into Miss X’s flat below. There were also leaks from the pipes in their flat and the one above. No attempts had been made to stop these leaks.
  11. The EHO arranged to carry out a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspection of Miss X’s property on 12 February 2024. This inspection identified a number of deficiencies in the property, including damp and mould in the kitchen/ diner, bathroom, and one of the bedrooms; excess cold; and deficiencies in fire detection.
  12. The EHO wrote to Company 1 in early March 2024 setting out the deficiencies and the remedial works required to be carried out. They asked Company 1 to confirm within 14 days how it intended to deal with these issues.
  13. The Council also responded to Miss X’s complaint on 1 March 2024. It noted the EHO had closed the disrepair case in December 2023 as both Miss X and the managing agents had confirmed the damp and mould and the heating issues had been resolved.
  14. The Council also noted that the EHO had now carried out and inspection on 12 February 2024 to check the repairs had been carried out to a good standard and there were no further issues. The EHO had produced a comprehensive report and discussed with Miss X how to deal with the condensation on the windows.
  15. The EHO had noted damp and mould problems in one of the bedrooms, the bathroom, and the kitchen due to water leaks from the flat above which had been resolved. The Council noted the EHO had been allowed access to the flat above and had not seen any leaks.
  16. The Council concluded the leak identified in October 2023 had taken four months to resolve, and upheld Miss X’s complaint.

Homelessness

  1. As Company 1 had served Miss X with notice to quit and a possession order had been granted for 25 October 2023, Miss X was referred to the Council’s housing advice team. The Council accepted a homeless application.
  2. The records of the assessment note Miss X was approaching as homeless as the property was in disrepair and the landlord was taking action to evict her. They also note Miss X’s medical needs and that the officer will send a medical form for Miss X to complete. The records of a subsequent phone call note that Miss X was sharing the property with another person who had left two months ago. Miss X had incurred arrears as she could not afford the rent on her own.
  3. The Council has not provided copies of any decision letter confirming the duty it owed Miss X. Miss X says the Council told her in November 2023 she should remain in the property and it would provide temporary accommodation on the day she was evicted.
  4. In January 2024 Miss X asked the Council to send the medical form in a different format as neither she nor her doctor could complete the form provided. Miss X says she did not receive the form or hear anything further from the Council.
  5. Miss X has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She complained her health had been adversely affected by the damp conditions in her property and that the Council had not offered any help with rehousing.
  6. Since complaining to us Miss X has been evicted from the property. The remedial works were not completed before she left.

Analysis

  1. The Ombudsman does not act as an appeal body. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to decide whether the Council should take enforcement action in relation to issues of disrepair; that is the Council’s job. Our role is to review the process by which decisions are made, and where we find fault, to determine whether a significant injustice was caused to the individual complainant. We cannot criticise a council where officers have followed the correct procedures and reached a reasoned decision.
  2. When Miss X reported disrepair in September 2023 the Council wrote to her landlord but did not visit to inspect her property. The Council accepted Miss X’s landlord’s account of the works carried out and their confirmation that the leaks had been resolved. It is concerning that the Council closed the case in December 2023 on the basis Miss X and her landlord had confirmed the damp and mould issues had been resolved. There is no evidence Miss X confirmed this. Rather, Miss X told the Council there was an ongoing leak from the flat above her own as the toilet was still broken and the broken pipes had not been repaired.
  3. I consider the Council’s failure to inspect the reported disrepair at Miss X’s property in the Autumn of 2023 is fault. The Council was also at fault in closing the case without properly verifying the required works had been completed.
  4. The EHO did then visited Miss X’s property in February 2024 and identified a number of hazards which they asked the landlord to address. I consider it more likely than not that had the Council inspected Miss X’s property in the Autumn of 2023 these hazards would have been present. The Council would then have required Miss X’s landlord to take action sooner.
  5. The Council’s failings mean Miss X may have been living with the disrepair for longer than she otherwise would have. I recognise that having been informed of the hazards in early March 2024, Miss X’s landlord did not carry out the repairs promptly. But it is possible that had the hazards been raised with the landlord in the Autumn of 2023 some of the remedial works would have been completed before Miss X left the property.
  6. In any event Miss X has experienced distress, frustration, and uncertainty as a result of the Council’s failure to inspect her property and ensure the works were completed before closing the case in December 2023.
  7. I also consider there was fault in the way the Council dealt with Mis X’s homelessness application. The Council has provided limited information regarding Miss X’s homeless application. The documentation suggests the Council accepted a duty to assist Miss X in November 2023 but I have not received copies of any formal decision letters or records of any advice provided.
  8. Nor have I received any evidence the Council considered whether it was reasonable for Miss X to remain in the property pending eviction. The Council appears to have accepted Miss X was threatened with homelessness. Miss X says she was told to remain in the property and would not be provided with temporary accommodation until the day she was evicted. However, Miss X told the Council both that the property was in a state of disrepair and that she could not afford to remain there. This should have prompted the Council to consider whether Miss X was homeless because it was not reasonable for her to continue to occupy the property.
  9. In the absence of any records I cannot be satisfied the Council properly considered this issue. This is fault. It is not possible to speculate on what would have happened but for this fault. But it is clear this fault will again have caused Miss X unnecessary distress, frustration, and uncertainty.
  10. Miss X complains about further failings and a lack of homelessness support since she was evicted in at the end of May 2024. These event are outside the scope of this complaint. It is open to Miss X to pursue a further separate complaint in relation to these issues.

Back to top

Agreed action

  1. The Council has agreed to:
    • apologise to Miss X for the fault identified above and the distress, frustration, and uncertainty this has caused her. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
    • make a symbolic payment of £500 to Miss X to recognise the distress, frustration, and uncertainty she experienced as a result of the fault identified;
  2. The Council has also agreed to:
    • review its procedures and timeframes for inspecting/responding to reports of disrepair in privately rented properties; and
    • provide training/reminders to relevant staff of:
      1. the need to properly record their consideration of homelessness applications and to write to applicants to confirm what housing duty the Council decides it owes them, and to explain the applicant's rights of review; and
      2. the importance of properly considering whether it is reasonable for a homeless applicant to continue residing at a property which is in disrepair and affecting their health.
  3. The Council should take this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint and provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

  1. The Council’s failure to inspect the reported disrepair at Miss X’s property in the Autumn of 2023 is fault. As is the failure to properly consider and record its decisions in relation to Miss X’s homelessness application. These faults have caused Miss X an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Print this page

LGO logogram

Review your privacy settings

Required cookies

These cookies enable the website to function properly. You can only disable these by changing your browser preferences, but this will affect how the website performs.

View required cookies

Analytical cookies

Google Analytics cookies help us improve the performance of the website by understanding how visitors use the site.
We recommend you set these 'ON'.

View analytical cookies

In using Google Analytics, we do not collect or store personal information that could identify you (for example your name or address). We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data. Google has developed a tool to help you opt out of Google Analytics cookies.

Privacy settings