London Borough of Lambeth — case 202436408

Decision Case ID 202436408 Decision type Investigation Landlord London Borough of Lambeth Landlord type Local Authority / ALMO or TMO Occupancy Secure Tenancy Date 23 January 2026 The resident experienced a leak at the property. He was unhappy with the landlord’s response, in particular the time taken to complete internal repairs. What the complaint is about The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported repairs. We have also assessed the landlord’s complaint handling. Our decision (determination) We have found: Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported repairs.

Maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. We have made orders for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reasons The landlord failed to complete the resident’s reported repairs within a timely manner. The landlord failed to respond to the resident’s stage 1 complaint within its policy timescales. It also did not respond to all aspects of the resident’s complaint. Putting things right Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right.

We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction. Orders Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set. Order What the landlord must do Due date 1 Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic.

It has due regard to our apologies guidance. No later than 20 February 2026 2 Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £600 made up as follows: £400 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s reported repairs. £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused for its complaint handling. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. No later than 20 February 2026 3 Action order The landlord must contact the resident to: ascertain whether there were any outstanding repairs.

If there are, it should complete them within a reasonable timeframe and it should consider whether further compensation is warranted. ascertain whether the resident remains concerned that it did not complete his reported repairs over a 5 year period. If so, it should consider whether it should investigate his concerns. It should provide a written response, where relevant it should rely on its relevant policies and procedures for any decision made. pay the resident the compensation it offered him in its complaint responses, if it has not already done so.

No later than 20 February 2026 Our investigation The complaint procedure Date What happened May – December 2022 The landlord attended the resident’s flat to carry out remedial works to his ceiling in May 2022. It identified that there was an active leak, and so no repairs were completed. The leak remained unresolved in December 2022. January – May 2023 The landlord told the resident that it would carry out an inspection of the roof on 11 January 2023. The outcome of the inspection and whether the landlord carried out any roof repairs at this time is unknown The resident considered that the leak was resolved in March 2023.

26 June 2023 The resident made a complaint. He said that he had been waiting for the landlord to complete the internal repairs to his living room for ‘over 4 years’ following a leak. 31 July 2023 The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It acknowledged that there had been ‘continued delays in service’ between May 2022 and July 2023. It said that it would carry out the internal repairs on 19 September 2023 and offered the resident £480 compensation for the inconvenience caused.

September 2023 The landlord booked appointments for 19 and 26 September 2023 to carry out the internal repairs. The outcome of these appointments are unclear. But the resident chased the landlord for an update in December 2023 January 2024 The landlord inspected the roof and repairs were recommended. May – July 2024 The landlord’s records show that it completed some internal repairs to the resident’s bedrooms in May 2024. In July 2024, it noted that it could not carry out works to the living room ceiling as it was covered by woodchip paper.

5 August 2024 The resident escalated his complaint. He said: the repairs had been outstanding for 5 years. He had been unable to use 3 rooms during that time. while operatives had attended, no updates had been provided and the repairs were not completed. the landlord missed an appointment on 8 July 2024. He asked the landlord for compensation. 15-18 October 2024 The landlord carried out a further roof inspection. It resolved an issue with the roof outlet and identified follow up works.

29 October 2024 The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It apologised for the “prolong delays and lack of resolution the [resident] had experienced over the previous 5 years”. It said that it “understood the significant impact this had on the living conditions and frustration of the repeated delays and missed follow ups”. It said that it had resolved the blocked outlet on the roof and follow up repairs were going to be booked in. January – April 2025 The roof works were completed in early 2025.

In February the landlord identified that further works were needed to the resident’s living room and bedroom. The landlord’s records state that they were completed in April. Referral to the Ombudsman The resident told us that he remained dissatisfied because some of the internal repairs remained incomplete. What we found and why The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed.

We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration. Complaint The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported repairs Finding Maladministration The resident’s comments that the repairs have been outstanding since 2019 are noted. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords at the time the events happened. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for a thorough investigation to be carried out and for informed decisions to be made.

This is where records indicate the beginning of events leading up to the residents’ complaint. Taking this into account and the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment has focussed on the period from May 2022 onwards. It is noted that the landlord offered the resident £1,000 compensation around March 2023 in relation to a different complaint. The evidence suggests that this was in relation to similar concerns raised in this complaint. While this is acknowledged, the resident’s concerns continued which are highlighted in this case.

Therefore, we have assessed its handling of those matters. In its July 2023 stage 1 complaint response, the landlord acknowledged that it failed to complete the repairs between May 2022 and July 2023. In recognition of the inconvenience caused, it offered the resident £480 compensation. While it was reasonable for the landlord to offer compensation, the delays persisted and the resident was caused further distress and inconvenience. Despite this the landlord failed to revisit its compensation offered when it issued its stage 2 response.

The landlord appropriately provided the resident with a date for completing the timescales in its stage 1 response. However, the evidence provided: does not clearly demonstrate the outcome of the September 2023 appointments and there is no evidence to show that the landlord took reasonable steps to progress the repairs following them. shows that the resident told the landlord that the internal repairs remained outstanding and chased it for an update in December 2023. It is unclear whether the landlord provided him with an update and/or whether it investigated the matter at that time.

shows that the landlord completed some internal repairs in May 2024. However, its records demonstrate that it did not fully complete them until April 2025 and the resident had to chase the landlord for an update in December 2024. Overall, it took the landlord a further 20 months to fully complete the repairs following its stage 1 response. It is unclear whether the ongoing roof leak/repairs was a contributing factor. If this was the case we have not seen evidence that this repair was adequately managed and progressed either.

In addition there is no evidence to suggest that the landlord reasonably kept in contact with the resident during this period. Nor that it reasonably progressed the remedial repairs and that the further delay was unavoidable. The evidence suggests that poor communication, record keeping and overall repair case management of these issues contributed to the prolonged delay. Taking into consideration the length of the further delay and in line with our remedies guidance, we have ordered that the landlord pay a further £400 compensation to the resident.

Complaint The handling of the complaint Finding Maladministration At the time of the resident’s June 2023 stage 1 complaint, the landlord’s complaint policy response timescale for stage 1 was 20 working days. ‘While this was not complaint with our Complaint Handling Code (the Code), the landlord has since updated its policy. Taking into consideration the landlord’s policy timescales at the time of the resident’s complaint, it issued its: stage 1 response approximately 5 days late.

stage 2 response approximately 40 days late. The reason for the delay is unclear. The landlord also failed to update the resident, or agree a revised deadline for responding. This was a further departure from the Code. The landlord failed to acknowledge the delays when it issued its stage 2 response and therefore missed an opportunity to put things right. The landlord also failed to meaningfully respond to the resident’s concerns that his reported repairs had been outstanding for 5 years and his request for compensation.

While it apologised for the delay and acknowledged that impact that the delays would have had on the resident during this period, it did not address this specific concern. If the landlord felt that the historical issues were time-barred, it should reasonably have explained this to the resident at the time. However, it was not appropriate to leave the resident’s concern unanswered. Learning Knowledge information management (record keeping) and communication The evidence suggests that the landlord’s poor record keeping and internal and external communication practices contributed to its failings in this case.

Therefore the landlord may wish to carry out a case review.