Summary: The Council was at fault for the way it responded to Ms X’s reports of mould and damp. This caused injustice as Ms X cannot be sure whether the Council could have taken steps to investigate and remedy the conditions in her property. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to her for the distress and uncertainty caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the way the Council considered her reports of damp and mould in her temporary accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of this investigation, I considered the information provided by Ms X. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information received in response. I sent a draft of this decision to Ms X and the Council and considered comments received in response.

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What I found

5. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a legal duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is commonly referred to as the ‘main housing duty’.
6. There is a legal duty for authorities to ensure that accommodation provided under the main housing duty is “suitable” for the applicant and household members (section 206 Housing Act 1996).
7. When deciding if accommodation is suitable, authorities must have regard to various statutory provisions, including the Housing Act 2004 which identified damp and mould as a hazard. They must also have regard to the following factors:
• the space and arrangement of the accommodation;
• the state of repair and condition of the accommodation – as an absolute;
• minimum it must be free of Category 1 hazards;
8. Councils have a duty to keep the suitability of accommodation under review. An applicant may ask a council to reconsider the suitability of their current temporary accommodation at any time if their circumstances change (for example, if there is a change in their needs due to a medical condition or disability or an increase in the size of the household). An officer should then make a suitability decision. The officer may agree the accommodation is unsuitable and put the applicant on a transfer list. In that case, the applicant does not need to request a section 202 review.

Background

9. Ms X and her family moved into a property in January 2020. This was provided by the Council as temporary accommodation following Ms X’s approach for homeless assistance. In March 2020, the Council decided it owed Ms X the main housing duty.
10. The property was a 2 bedroom flat and the kitchen had no doors. Ms X said the property had mould and dampness.

Impact of mould on health

11. The NHS website describes the impact of mould on health. It says:

“Moulds produce allergens (substances that can cause an allergic reaction), irritants and, sometimes, toxic substances. Inhaling or touching mould spores may cause an allergic reaction, such as sneezing, a runny nose, red eyes and skin rash. Moulds can also cause asthma attacks.

Some people are more sensitive than others, including:

• Babies and children
• […]
• […]
• Those with respiratory problems, such as allergies and asthma

These people should stay away from damp and mould.”

What happened

12. In March 2020, Ms X reported issues with mould and dampness in her property.
13. In early June 2020, a surveyor for the Council came to inspect Ms X’s property. The inspection noted there was a low relative humidity level at the time of the inspection and the property was an acceptable temperature. The surveyor also noted concerns that when the property was secured at night, left vacant or when temperatures fell during colder conditions the windows were likely to be closed for security and to conserve heat. The report also mentioned the kitchen did not have doors allowing hot air from cooking to escape into other rooms.
14. The surveyor recommended the following:
• A ventilation survey at the property.
• To remove the mould and treat the affected surfaces in the hallway cupboard wall.
15. It is not clear what happened after this however Ms X’s mother contacted the Council in August 2020 reporting issues of anti-social behaviour and damp and mould.
16. In September 2020, the Council’s records show it attempted to visit Ms X’s property several times but could not gain access to carry out the treatment of the mould in her cupboard.
17. In mid-October 2020, the Council managed to arrange access with Ms X and attended her property to treat the mould in the cupboard and paint over it. The Council returned to Ms X’s property several days later and found that the paint was still wet. The notes from the Council’s records said there could be an underlying issue with mould at Ms X’s property. The Council suggested a surveyor attend Ms X’s property to inspect.
18. In late October 2020, a surveyor said they attempted to call Ms X three times and left their card at her door. Ms X disputes this and said she received a message from a surveyor wanting to book an appointment for the next day. Ms X said she returned the call and left the surveyor a message but did not hear anything further.
19. In November 2020, the Council closed Ms X’s case as a surveyor had not been able to get in contact with her. Ms X contacted the Council in late November 2020 and said no one had visited her property and she had damp and mould. The Council told Ms X that it would arrange an inspection after the national Covid 19 lockdown restrictions had ended.
20. In January 2021, Ms X contacted the Council again regarding the mould and damp. She reported the external walls inside the property were covered in mould and dampness. Ms X said she had not heard from a surveyor. The Council told Ms X it would carry out an inspection after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
21. In late January 2021, Ms X made an insurance claim with the Council on the basis that many of her possessions had been damaged by mould and damp. Ms X sent the Council photos showing the mould and the damaged possessions.
22. In mid-February 2021, Ms X moved out of the property as she successfully bid on a property through the Council’s Housing Register.
23. In late February 2023, the Council carried out a void inspection of Ms X’s former property. The notes from this show the property needed mould treatment in all the rooms and hallway cupboard.
24. Internal emails at the Council show the insurance team asked for a damp inspection report. From the evidence seen it does not appear an inspection report was ever prepared after Ms X moved out of the property. The Council contacted the previous surveyor who inspected the property in June 2020 and used their findings conclude the mould and damp was as a result of Ms X’s lifestyle.

Ms X’s complaint

25. In June 2021, the Council started to consider a complaint from Ms X about how it considered her reports of mould and dampness.
26. The Council provided its stage one response in July 2021. The Council said a surveyor could not visit Ms X’s property during lockdown but had attempted to contact her before this. In January 2021, the Council recommended further repairs to Ms X’s property based on the June 2020 surveyor’s report. This included washing down the cupboard walls and cutting holes in the cupboard walls for ventilation, however Ms X had moved out of the property before the Council could complete these repairs. The Council said Ms X’s insurance claim was denied as the June 2020 surveyor had reported the damp and mould was caused due to non-compliance with the property humidity levels.
27. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at the next stage in August 2021. Ms X said she was not contacted by a surveyor prior to the Covid 19 lockdown. The Council provided its stage two response in on 26 August 2021, and said it did not uphold the complaint as its records showed it attempted to contact her.
28. Ms X responded to the Council on 27 August 2021 and said external works to the building were responsible for causing the mould and dampness in her property. Ms X said other residents in the building had been affected by mould and dampness.
29. In late November 2021, the Council provided its final response. The Council said it had properly explained its role in investigating Ms X’s reports of damp and mould and carried out appropriate repairs. The Council however, upheld Ms X’s complaint due to the disturbance and distress she experienced and offered her one week’s rent in compensation.

Analysis

Ms X’s reports of damp and mould

30. Following Ms X’s initial reports of mould and damp, the Council sent a surveyor to her property to carry out an inspection. The surveyor found there was mould in a hallway cupboard and made recommendations to treat the mould affected areas and commission a ventilation survey.
31. From the information provided it appeared to take the Council until October 2020 to carry out treatment to the mould affected areas. This was fault. While I acknowledge Ms X was responsible for some of this delay as she refused access to the Council in September 2020, I still consider this an excessive time to complete the repairs.
32. Following the mould treatment works the Council found the paint was not drying. The notes from the Council said it considered there was an underlying issue at the property. As a result, it asked a surveyor to visit. Ms X said she received a missed telephone call from the surveyor and returned this and left a message but did not hear anything back. The surveyor said they visited Ms X’s property three times and left a card but could not get in contact.
33. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available and relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened.
34. The Council has not been able to provide a record of the surveyor’s visits in October 2020. As the Council has other records of visits to Ms X property from before this time I would have expected it to have been able to provide these. In light of this, I am inclined to agree with Ms X version of events and find the Council at fault. If it had attended Ms X’s property in October 2020, it could have carried out investigations into what was causing the mould and dampness and decided if or what works were necessary. Further, the Council had a window of opportunity to carry out an inspection of Ms X’s property between 2 December 2020 and 6 January 2021, when there was a short break between covid 19 national lockdowns.
35. After Ms X moved out of the property in February 2021, it was not clear whether the Council carried out an new surveyor’s report to assess the extent of the mould and dampness issue. From the information provided, it appears the Council relied on advice from the previous surveyor who said the mould and dampness was due to lifestyle issues. This was fault.
36. Since the June 2020 surveyors report several months had passed and things could have worsened in the property, especially as Ms X moved out of the property in winter. The Council also did not ever explicitly say how Ms X’s family’s lifestyle was contributing to the mould and dampness. From the information provided the only reasons given are general such as the kitchen had no doors and cooking would cause hot air to move into other rooms. However this would be the same for any family living at the property.
37. The records showed the property had previous issues with damp and mould from former occupants and the outside of the building was having works carried out to it. I cannot see that the Council considered these factors when looking at the issues in Ms X property. This was fault.
38. As I have found the Council at fault I need to consider what injustice this caused Ms X. If the Council had carried out an inspection when it should have it could have established what the issues with damp and mould were in Ms X’s property. Given that Ms X reported, in November 2020 and January 2021, that her possessions had been damaged by mould and dampness, this was a missed opportunity by the Council to investigate and resolve the issues at Ms X property While I cannot say whether this would have prevented Ms X’s from having possessions damaged, it has caused her uncertainty.

Suitability of Ms X’s property

39. In August 2020, the Council received reports from a family member of Ms X about the condition of the property and about anti-social behaviour Ms X and her family had experienced. At this point the Council should have considered whether the temporary accommodation Ms X resided at was still suitable.
40. I cannot see from the evidence the Council provided what steps the Council took to consider whether the temporary accommodation Ms X’s family was occupying was still suitable. This was fault.
41. Had the Council considered the suitability of the temporary accommodation at this time, there is a possibility it could have decided the property was unsuitable and moved Ms X sooner.

Complaint handling

42. The Council was at fault for its complaint handling. At stage three the Council took nearly three months to respond to Ms X. In addition, the Council signposted Ms X to the wrong Ombudsman.
43. It took this Ombudsman over a year to decide her complaint was outside of jurisdiction. While the Council was not responsible for this delay, by signposting Ms X to the wrong Ombudsman it has contributed to the delays in her having her complaint considered by the correct Ombudsman.

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Agreed action

44. Within one month of my final decision the Council agreed to carry out the following:
1. Provide Ms X with a written apology for the above faults.
2. Pay Ms X £300 for the distress and uncertainty she experienced for how the Council handled her reports of mould and damp and for not considering whether her temporary accommodation had become suitable.
3. Pay Ms X £150 to recognise the distress she suffered for the faults in complaint handling.
4. Ensure that when it decides lifestyle factors are a cause of mould and dampness in a property, the Council specifies how a person’s lifestyle is specifically contributing to the mould and dampness and considers any mitigating factors (such as no drying facilities, or space to dry clothes).
45. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

46. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice. The Council has agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman