What the Housing Ombudsman's damp and mould reports reveal about social landlord failings in England, and what to expect before you complain.
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The Housing Ombudsman investigates complaints from tenants of social landlords in England. It has no jurisdiction over private landlords, but for those renting from councils, housing associations, and other registered providers, its decisions are an important indicator of where landlords are going wrong and what tenants can realistically expect when things break down. This article looks at what the Ombudsman's work tells us about damp and mould complaints and what you should know before making a complaint of your own.
The 2021 spotlight report
In 2021 the Housing Ombudsman published a landmark report on damp and mould. The report looked at hundreds of cases and found systemic failures across the sector. Landlords were repeatedly dismissing damp reports as condensation caused by tenant behaviour rather than investigating properly. Repairs were cosmetic rather than addressing the underlying cause. Deadlines for responding to complaints were missed repeatedly.
The report called on landlords to make a cultural shift: to treat damp and mould as a hazard to be fixed rather than a lifestyle issue to be managed around the tenant. It was published before the death of Awaab Ishak in November 2020 became the subject of public attention, but the findings of the inquest and the subsequent legal changes reinforced the same message.
Maladministration and severe maladministration
When the Ombudsman upholds a complaint, it categorises the finding. The two key categories are maladministration and severe maladministration.
Maladministration means the landlord got something wrong in a way that caused inconvenience, distress, or financial loss to the tenant. The Ombudsman can order the landlord to apologise, carry out works, and pay compensation. Compensation varies depending on how long the problem persisted and the impact on the tenant's quality of life.
Severe maladministration is a higher bar. It is used where the failures were serious, prolonged, or caused significant harm. Compensation orders in severe maladministration cases are typically higher. The Ombudsman publishes data on the proportion of cases in each category, and in recent years the proportion of severe findings has increased, reflecting cases where landlords have continued to fail tenants even after earlier interventions.
The Complaint Handling Code
The Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code became statutory in April 2024. Social landlords are legally required to follow it. The Code sets out a two-stage complaints process.
At Stage 1, the landlord should acknowledge your complaint and provide a full response within ten working days. If you are not satisfied with the Stage 1 response, you can escalate to Stage 2. The landlord then has twenty working days to provide a final response.
Only once you have received a Stage 2 response, or the landlord has failed to respond within the required timescale, can you take your complaint to the Ombudsman. This is called exhausting the internal process, and it is a requirement before the Ombudsman will normally investigate.
If your landlord is not following the Code, that failure is itself something the Ombudsman can consider. Keep records of every communication, including dates, so you can demonstrate whether deadlines were met.
Common findings in damp and mould cases
The patterns the Ombudsman identifies repeatedly include:
Treating damp as a tenant behaviour problem. Landlords attributing mould to cooking, showering, or drying laundry without evidence, and using this to avoid carrying out repairs, is a recurring failure.
Cosmetic-only repairs. Painting over mould without treating the cause does not fix the problem. The Ombudsman has criticised landlords for this approach repeatedly. If your landlord has sent a contractor who simply painted the affected area, document it and include it in your complaint.
Missed deadlines and no updates. Agreeing to carry out an inspection or repair and then failing to do it, or not keeping the tenant informed, is treated as a process failure in itself, separate from the underlying disrepair.
Failing to consider health impact. Where a tenant has raised the health consequences of living with damp and mould, ignoring that information is seen as an aggravating factor.
What the Ombudsman cannot do
It is important to be clear about the limits of the Ombudsman's powers. The Ombudsman cannot award compensation for personal injury. If damp and mould in your home has made you or a family member ill, the financial impact of that, including medical costs and any related losses, cannot be claimed through the Ombudsman route. For that, you would need to pursue a civil claim in the courts, typically with legal advice.
The Ombudsman also cannot force a landlord to carry out works instantly. It can order works as part of a determination, but if the landlord then fails to comply, you may need to follow up with the Ombudsman again.
What to do if your complaint is not being taken seriously
If your landlord has not responded to your repair report, start the formal complaints process in writing. State clearly that this is a Stage 1 formal complaint, describe the problem and when you first reported it, and ask for a response within the timescale required under the Complaint Handling Code.
If the Stage 1 response is inadequate, escalate to Stage 2 in writing. If the Stage 2 response is still unsatisfactory, or if the landlord misses the deadline, you can refer to the Housing Ombudsman Service directly via their website or by post.
While the complaint process is ongoing, you can also ask your local council's environmental health team to inspect under the HHSRS. A council improvement notice operates separately from the Ombudsman process and can put additional pressure on the landlord to act.
Need help?
If you are struggling to get your landlord to respond to a damp or mould problem, or you are not sure how to escalate your complaint, call us on 0800 030 4669. We can help you understand what steps are available and how to put your case together clearly.
Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 15 June 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only and not guaranteed; every case is different.
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