Ms C complained about the condition of the property she rented from Cardiff Council. The Ombudsman investigated whether the Council failed to respond to and act upon reports of leaks and extensive damp and mould at the property appropriately and in a timely manner. The investigation also considered whether, after the property was identified as not fit for human habitation in July 2024, the Council carried out repair works in a timely manner and made reasonable efforts to provide alternative accommodation for Ms C’s family.
The investigation identified serious service failures which had a devastating impact on Ms C and her family. The Ombudsman upheld all the complaints.
The Ombudsman found that the Council was aware of the presence of damp and mould in April 2021 and over several years Ms C had made multiple reports of a significant leak from the bathroom causing damage to the kitchen ceiling. The Council missed numerous opportunities over nearly 4 years to properly investigate and resolve the causes of the leak and the damp and mould. By March 2024 the property had fallen into an appalling state of disrepair. There were extensive patches of black mould throughout the property and large amounts of water were leaking through a gaping hole in the kitchen ceiling and cascading over live electrical fittings onto surfaces and units.
The Ombudsman found that there were further avoidable delays in arranging necessary repairs after the Council formally decided that the property was not fit for human habitation in July 2024. In addition, the process for considering whether Ms C’s family required alternative accommodation was chaotic and dysfunctional.
The Ombudsman found that the damp and mould posed significant hazards to the health of Ms C and her family, some of whom suffered from asthma. It also damaged or destroyed many of the family’s possessions. The despair of living in such poor conditions over a long period appeared to have contributed to the slow disintegration of the family unit to the point that all family members had moved out. Ms C and 2 of her daughters spent many months living in unsuitable conditions with her elderly mother. The failure to properly consider the family’s need for alternative accommodation caused them further stress and confusion and meant they had to endure several more months without access to a home which was fit for them to live in.
The Ombudsman considered that Ms C’s experience should serve as a powerful reminder to social landlords across Wales of the potentially devastating human impacts of delayed and inadequate responses to reports of disrepair or damp and mould. The Ombudsman commended the Council’s constructive engagement with her investigation and the positive and proactive approach it had taken since May 2024 to improving the way it responds to reports of disrepair and damp and mould.
The Ombudsman made a number of recommendations, which the Council accepted:
Within 1 month:
a) Arrange for its Chief Executive to apologise to Ms C on behalf of the Council for the failings identified in this report.
b) Make a financial redress payment to Ms C of £3,000. This includes £2,000 for the serious practical and financial injustice and £1,000 for the serious emotional distress caused to Ms C and her family by the failings identified in this report.
c) Remind all employees within the Responsive Repairs Unit (“the RRU”) of the importance of treating all tenants with respect and compassion, particularly in relation to concerns about complex repairs and damp and mould.
d) Share the final report with members of its Audit and Governance Committee to enable it to monitor the progress and outcome of the recommendations below.
Within 4 months:
e) Review its Fitness for Human Habitation (“FFHH”) process to ensure that the need for a FFHH inspection is considered promptly whenever the Council becomes aware of disrepair which could potentially compromise a property’s FFHH status. The policy should also ensure that inspections specifically consider the 29 categories set out in the FFHH Regulations, and that where a property is deemed not to be FFHH, a follow-up inspection is arranged promptly once repairs are carried out.
f) Provide my office with evidence of the outcome of its review of the decant and monitoring process, along with details of progress in relation to any associated recommendations and action plans.
g) Provide my office with a detailed update on progress in relation to the action plans created during its review of the Ombudsman’s thematic report relating to disrepair and damp and mould.
h) Provide my office with a detailed update on progress in relation to each of the action plans created during the Review of the RRU, including in relation to Customer Communication and responding to complaints.
Within 6 months:
i) Carry out an audit of records held by the RRU and the Complaints Department (including councillor referrals) to identify whether other tenants may have experienced significant hardship or injustice as a result of the identified systemic problems in the RRU’s response to complex repairs and damp and mould cases. Where any such tenants are identified, the Council should provide appropriate redress in keeping with its complaint policy and with the approach I have taken in this case. In doing so it should consider making payments to reflect any damage to property, emotional distress and inconvenience caused by the failings.
j) Carry out an equality impact assessment of its repair and damp and mould policies, including revisions introduced following the Review, to ensure that responses to reports and complaints about disrepair and damp and mould are appropriately prioritised where disabled or otherwise vulnerable householders are affected.