Slug-infested home leads to £5,500 compensation pay-out

The Great Yarmouth woman received the pay-out and an apology from housing provider Orbit after she complained about the state of the town centre property she was a tenant in.

A slug makes its way across the tenant's floor (Image: Supplied)

The single mother who is in her 30s and lives with her teenage son, had complained to the Housing Ombudsman after Orbit failed to tackle problems of damp and slugs invading her two-bedroom home.

The Housing Ombudsman found Orbit guilty of one count of severe maladministration and one count of maladministration regarding the way it had handled the damp and mould reports and the woman's complaints respectively.

The tenant has been in the property since 2006 and there were records of complaints made between 2009 and 2019 about mould, damp and water ingress.

The ombudsman's report focussed from the start of July 2020, when Orbit identified works to be carried out on guttering and downpipes.

However the woman, who has asthma and other health problems, then contacted the Orbit to complain about damp and mould, stating that "works had not been carried out to remedy this, which was causing a worsening of her asthma".

She also reported a slug infestation in the property.

Orbit then carried out a damp survey in October 2020, which recommended further internal works be carried out.

Its damp report said: "The moisture levels to the ground floor were noted as significantly in excess of the levels at which rot and defects to timber would occur. The level of works exceeded ordinary repairs."

The ombudsman report says Orbit did not consider the property as "viable" and there had been discussions about moving the tenant out.

The state of the tenant's home has led to Orbit Housing being ordered to pay compensation (Image: Supplied)

Following no sign of progress the woman officially complained to Orbit in March 2021.

The ombudsman report said: "She was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response to the damp issues at the property and the lack of communication, despite the severity and urgency of the situation.

"The resident added that she had contacted the local authorities suggested by the landlord but they would not accept her on the housing list as she had no local connections there."

The next month the woman escalated her complaint.

The house suffered from damp (Image: Supplied)

A summary said: "She reiterated her dissatisfaction with the landlord’s handling of the damp at the property, specifically, that damp proofing in the bathroom and bedroom had not been completed, works to the door had not been carried out (the door not being fitted properly was said to be contributing to the issue of damp), no work having been done to the hung flooring, as advised by the damp report and that slugs were continuing to enter the property.

"The resident also referred to a deterioration in her health, and her son’s health due to these issues."

An internal Orbit email in June 2021 then said "that the complaint would be closed down as it had ‘done everything we can’, with repairs to be completed, damp survey recommendations to be followed, with the main outstanding issue relating to the resident ‘frustrating her own move by being so particular with the location’."

Orbit Housing was ordered to pay £5,000 compensation due to the lack of remedial works (Image: Supplied)

The ombudsman said there was no sign of any of the identified works being done to tackle the reported problems.

It added: "There is no evidence of the landlord taking any steps at all, to address the reports of slugs, which were reported as an infestation on a number of occasions; an infestation that was caused by the condition of the property and not the resident’s lifestyle or otherwise and the landlord was consequently required to address."

In finding Orbit guilty of two counts of maladministration, the Housing Ombudsman said: "It is clear that there were serious problems with damp and mould at the property throughout the period of time that this report is focussing on, as well as related issues with slugs at the property for a substantial period of time and that required repairs were not carried out.

The Housing Ombudsman has investigated the state of the home (Image: Supplied)

"Failure to carry out works is a serious failure on the part of the landlord and this is particularly serious given the length of time and the severity of the issues.

"It is apparent that the landlord was focussed primarily on the resident’s desire to find suitable alternative accommodation and when it was unable to facilitate this it responded to the re-housing issue rather than addressing the property condition issues."

As well as ordering £5,500 compensation the Housing Ombudsman has ordered Orbit to carry out required works by October.

Damp was infesting the house (Image: Supplied)

The female tenant told this paper: "I just felt no one was listening to me, no one was helping me."

Orbit apologises

Orbit was asked for a comment but did not respond.

But in a letter of apology to the tenant, Paul Richards, Orbit's group director of customer and communities, said: "I am writing to offer you a sincere and unreserved apology for the ongoing and extensive failures in relation to the maintenance of your home.

"Having reviewed your case personally, I recognise and apologise for the frustration and detriment this has caused you.

"I appreciate that you have received a number of visits and surveys in relation to your home, but I ask your permission to send a specialist building surveyor to re-visit your property, in order to advise me directly on what action we can take to finally resolve the issues relating to damp and mould.

"Once we have this report, we will share it with you and agree what work needs to take place."