Industry News


Ombudsman blasts London council for failings on damp and mould


T


he Housing Ombudsman has strongly criticised the London Borough of Lambeth for significant failings in dealing with a


long-standing complaint about damp and mould caused by leaks. In an unusual ruling, the Ombudsman has


made two severe maladministration findings against the council. Teir resident had suffered extreme stress over several years that impacted on the family’s wellbeing. Te council was ordered to pay £2,150 in


compensation to the resident as well as providing confirmation of all the works completed, that it had implemented a series of service improvements and was using the learning from outcomes to avoid the failings happening again. Te resident had been dealing with water coming


into her property and causing damp and mould since 2015. Te Ombudsman had previously investigated a complaint from the resident about repairing leaks at the property and ordered the landlord to carry out a range of works to resolve the issue. Te landlord confirmed that works had either been completed or were planned. In 2020 the resident again complained to the


landlord and asked for proof of the works ordered having been completed. She also contacted the Ombudsman, complaining that the problem had been extremely stressful and had a huge negative impact on her and her family’s wellbeing, as well as their use and enjoyment of their home. In it’s response the council submitted a


large number of emails, many of them duplicated many times, in a file containing hundreds of pages. In relation to the ongoing reports of leaks, it meant the cause was unclear, as well as who was responsible for remedying the issue and what action had been taken to try and resolve it. Tere was also no indication of the landlord’s final position on the matter. Te Ombudsman found severe


maladministration for the landlord’s failings in


dealing with the leaks and associated damp and mould at the property. It failed to demonstrate that it had taken reasonable and appropriate steps to investigate and resolve the issues. It had caused ongoing detriment to the resident for several years. Tere were also a severe maladministration


finding for the landlord’s handling of the complaint with long delays and failure to address the complaint in any meaningful way. Tese failings further compounded the detriment caused to the resident by the way the landlord dealt with the works needed. A further finding of maladministration for the landlord’s poor record keeping was made. Te investigation formed part of nine individual


complaints the Ombudsman considered as part of a special report concerning Lambeth, using its new investigative powers under paragraph 50 of the Scheme where systemic issues may be presenting.


SERVICE FAILURES Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Tis case was highlighted in our special report about the landlord following the volume and frequency of complaint handling failure orders issued and a series of formal investigations. It provided a collective view of the landlord’s service provision and identified dealing with repairs, complaint handling and record keeping as key themes. All of those issues feature in this case. “Te landlord’s ongoing service improvements


may mitigate some of the failings identified in this individual case. We need reassurance that they will not happen again.” A Lambeth Council spokesman said: “Lambeth


has more than 33,000 council homes and our priority is ensuring all of these are safe and well- maintained for our tenants. We have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in improving our council homes and estates in recent years, in line with the Lambeth Housing Standard.


The Ombudsman found severe maladministration for the landlord’s failings in dealing with the leaks and associated damp and mould at the property


“We have also concentrated on making


improvements to the day-to-day delivery of repairs and maintenance work. Repairs are now being carried out promptly in the vast majority of cases. Tere are however some instances where we do not provide the standard of service that our tenants expect, and we apologise for these and are working hard to ensure that any issues are tackled quickly. “It is clear that the service we provided on aspects


of this case fell below our usual standards and we’re sorry for any distress caused to the residents as a result. We will apologise to this resident and will of course fully comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations. We will pay compensation and are actively resolving the problems reported at the property. “All of the new contracts, new in-house team,


new appointment system, housing database update, resident portal and training have all happened in the last nine months. Te in-house team and most of the contracts have settled in well, the improved ICT systems are working as planned and the council now has real-time visibility of the process. “While we saw improvements in 2021, the real


improvement will be seen this year when the new delivery arrangements have fully embedded. Adding the effect of a detailed stock condition survey and informed long term investment, the council is confident residents are going to experience a much better repairs and maintenance service going forward.”


Social landlords cut their spending on repairs last year


Housing associations spent three per cent less per home last year, largely due to cuts in their repairs and maintenance spending during the pandemic, according to the regulator. In its annual Value for Money report, the


Regulator of Social Housing reported the median ‘headline social housing cost’ for landlords in 2020/21 was £3,730 per home, which is 2.7 per cent less than the figure for the previous year. Te mean headline social housing cost per home


fell by 2.3 per cent to £4,150 Te headline social housing cost figure is calculated by dividing landlords’ spending


on activities like maintenance, repairs and neighbourhood services by the total number of social homes they own. It is a key metric used by the regulator when


analysing value for money. In its latest annual value for money report, the regulator said the drop in the headline social housing cost figure was largely due to a fall in repairs and maintenance spend during the pandemic. Te report said works to existing social


properties in nominal terms fell from £1.9bn in 2020 to £1.6bn in 2021. But the regulator added that by the third quarter of the financial year, capitalised


10 | HMMApril/May 2022 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


major repairs and maintenance had exceeded pre- pandemic levels. Other data in the report revealed that


reinvestment in new and existing social housing stock was 5.8 per cent of the total value of existing stock in 2020/21, compared with 7.2 per cent in 2019/20. Te sector invested £9.5bn in new supply and existing stock in 2021, compared to £12.2bn in 2020. However, the regulator pointed out that the


survey showed that providers are already delivering capital investment programmes to catch up works that were delayed by the pandemic.


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