The Housing Ombudsman found maladministration in Town and Country Housing’s handling of leaks causing damp and mould and in its associated complaint handling.
The central failure
The landlord did not complete timely and effective repairs or follow its damp and mould policy. It communicated poorly and did not adequately consider known household vulnerabilities, temporary rehousing or reported damage to belongings.
Why vulnerability evidence matters
Recording a diagnosis is not the end of the exercise. A decision record should show what the organisation understood about functional impact, what risk it assessed and how that information changed—or did not change—priority, communication, repairs and temporary accommodation.
Black Sheep evidence lesson
Use a vulnerability-impact schedule: identify what the landlord knew, the date it knew it, the practical risk, the adjustment or action requested, and the recorded response. This makes it harder for a final complaint response to acknowledge vulnerability without addressing its consequences.