Stevenage Borough Council · Case 202314292 · 15 October 2025
Stevenage Borough Council — case 202314292
The Ombudsman found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the landlord’s response to damp and mould. Our decision (determination) The complaint was resolved with intervention. We have made recommendations for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reas.
Orders and recommendations
- Apology
Our recommendations The landlord should apologise to the resident and pay her £500 compensation.
- Apology
The landlord should provide documentary evidence that it has apologised and paid the compensation.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202314292 Decision type Investigation Landlord Stevenage Borough Council Landlord type Local Authority Occupancy Secure Tenancy Date 15 October 2025 Background The resident reported a leak from the roof along with damp and mould in January 2023. As the block was within the developer’s warranty period, the landlord asked the developer to carry out the repairs. The developer was initially unresponsive but the landlord carried out the repair works in May 2023. The resident was unhappy with how long the work had taken.
She no longer lives at the property. What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s response to damp and mould. Our decision (determination) The complaint was resolved with intervention. We have made recommendations for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reasons At the end of the complaints process, the landlord explained that the developer had competed the works. It committed to monitor the repair. We contacted the landlord and provided it with a summary of our understanding of events.
This included some comments on areas that could have been handled better and what the landlord could do to resolve the resident’s complaint. This included delays in the work being completed by the developer and a lack of consideration of redress during the internal complaints procedure. Following our intervention, the landlord offered to apologise to the resident and pay the resident £500 compensation. We are therefore satisfied that, following our intervention, the landlord has agreed to take actions to remedy the matters.
Subject to the landlord apologising to the resident and paying the compensation, we are satisfied the complaint will be resolved satisfactorily. Recommendations The complaint has been resolved with intervention on the basis the landlord follows our recommendations. Our recommendations The landlord should apologise to the resident and pay her £500 compensation. The landlord should provide documentary evidence that it has apologised and paid the compensation.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.