London Borough of Lambeth · Case 202440644 · 2 February 2026
London Borough of Lambeth — case 202440644
The resident complained about the landlord's response to a leak through a hallway light fitting and related electrical safety concerns, leaving the property with inadequate lighting, damp and mould. The Ombudsman decided the complaint was outside its jurisdiction because the matters were substantially the same as legal proceedings initiated at court, so it had no power to investigate.
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
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Landlord's response to reports of a leak and related electrical safety concerns
Outside jurisdictionLegal proceedings were initiated at court relating to the ongoing leak, related electrical safety concerns and damp and mould. The issues at court and the complaint are substantially the same, so the Ombudsman cannot investigate and has no power to do so.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202440644 Decision type Jurisdiction Landlord London Borough of Lambeth Landlord type Local Authority / ALMO or TMO Occupancy Secure Tenancy Date 2 February 2026 Background The resident reported a leak coming through the light fitting in her hallway. The landlord isolated her hallway light due to this, leaving her in a property without adequate lighting, and with damp and mould and the ongoing leak. The resident then submitted a legal disrepair claim through the courts for these matters in June 2025.
What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s response to reports of a leak and related electrical safety concerns. Our decision (determination) We have decided that the resident’s complaint is outside our jurisdiction. Reasons We cannot investigate issues which are also subject to legal proceedings or where matters at court are connected so closely to the complaint, they cannot be separated. In this case, we can see legal proceedings were initiated at court on 2 June 2025.
The matters at court relate to the ongoing leak, and related electrical safety concerns and damp and mould. The issues at court and the complaint to this service are substantially the same and so we cannot investigate the matter. That means we have no power to investigate the complaint.
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.