Housing association left residents with cancer and chronic asthma in damp and mould for almost two years: Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration in two different Wandle Housing Association cases, both concerning its response to repairs and damp and mould.

In one case (Case A), a resident was receiving cancer treatment and in another (Case B), the household contained a child that was registered disabled.

In Case A, the Ombudsman found that not enough was done by the landlord to alleviate inadequate conditions, which included cracked walls and significant damp and mould, for a resident who was receiving cancer treatment. Instead, the landlord was more focused on whether it would dispose of the building or not.

The Ombudsman ruled that the landlord should have taken action when it became aware of the poor state of the internal ceilings, walls and windows to ensure they were kept in a reasonable state of repair whilst awaiting either the major works or the decision to dispose of the building.

Evidence shows that the Streatham resident and her family lived with cracked walls for more than four years, and with damp and mould in most rooms for two years. Whilst there is evidence the landlord tried to fix the windows in the home, there was little to suggest it did anything about the cracking or the damp and mould.

The Ombudsman ordered the landlord to pay £5,480 in compensation, which takes into account some of the rent paid in this period and to meet with the resident to discuss its next steps and how it can best facilitate that for her.

Wandle said it had completed the Ombudsman’s damp and mould self-assessment to ensure its response to damp and mould is in line with the regulatory approach, introducing a triage process and dedicated oversight for damp and mould cases. 

However, the Ombudsman was forced to issue a Complaint Handling Failure Order to ensure the orders in this case were complied with.

In Case B, the landlord failed to repair the heating system, ventilation system and to address damp and mould persisting in a home containing a resident with chronic asthma and a registered disabled child.

The Wimbledon resident and her child suffered significant distress and inconvenience as a result, living in the property without fully functioning heating and while the property was affected by damp and mould. Two years after it first being reported, the landlord was still unable to provide any evidence of addressing the concerns.

The home had been affected by mould, particularly in the bathroom, for nearly two years. The heating system had not been in full working order for at least 16 months and the ventilation system not in full working order for nearly two years. Some windows were defective for 14 months. There was very little detail as to the outcome of appointments and the completion dates listed in the records are not all accurate. The Ombudsman said this was of particular concern.

It acknowledged that Wandle took some appropriate action in that it inspected the property, agreed to arrange repairs, and offered some compensation for the previous delays.

However, the landlord had not evidenced that it had followed through and completed those repairs, therefore it had not put right its failings. Neither had it indicated any learning in terms of identifying what went wrong and how it would prevent a reoccurrence.

The Ombudsman ordered the landlord to pay the resident £6,620 in compensation and to appoint specialist contractors and surveyors to confirm any outstanding works and undertake them.

In both cases the Ombudsman ordered the chief executive to make a direct apology to the residents concerned and to self-assess against the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report into damp and mould.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Social housing can be vital for residents with vulnerabilities and these cases provide important learning for landlords to ensure it does so effectively."

He highlighted that these entirely separate cases were united by vulnerable residents living in poor conditions and damp and mould being allowed to persist. The central failings in each case spoke strongly to different recommendations the Ombudsman made in its Spotlight report on damp and mould.

Blakeway added: “There’s a huge amount of learning that landlords can take from these cases, especially centring on regeneration and decanting. I’d urge landlords to look past the headlines and to delve into the detail of the cases for that added learning, and where the sector can drive improvements to its services.

“For those landlords looking to go one step further than the reports, our CPD-accredited Centre for Learning contains e-learning on various aspects of housing management, including damp and mould.”

Wandle Housing Association said it was deeply sorry that the service to these residents didn’t meet the standard it strives to deliver. 

“When we received the determinations in April and August 2023 respectively, we apologised unreservedly to both our residents in writing and in person, fully complied with the orders, and reviewed policies and procedures to prevent something like this from happening again," it said.

The steps it took included: 

• Reviewing its complaint handling process, and moving staff roles into the Customer Resolution team, to better manage response times and satisfaction. 
• Improving training for all staff who handle complaints.
• Reviewing its handling of repairs and its record keeping practices in respect of repairs by commissioning mandatory training for all staff on its customer relationship management system
• Completing the Ombudsman damp and mould self-assessment to ensure its response to damp and mould is in line with the regulatory approach, introducing a triage process and dedicated oversight for damp and mould cases. 
• Introducing regular meetings to review decant requests and major works.

These, and all learnings from feedback from residents, have been reflected in Wandle’s repairs policy review, the housing association added.

Harry Rodd