Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to deal properly with her reports of anti-social behaviour from 2016. The complaint is largely outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because Ms X complains late on the 12 month rule. There is no evidence of an ongoing problem.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to deal properly with her reports of noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour caused by different tenants at the property next door. Ms X says in 2017 the family’s health suffered.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Ms X’s information, comments and reply to my draft decision statement. The information held includes the Council’s record of a meeting with Ms X in February 2020 and Ms X’s comments on it. Also, the Council’s complaint reply dated 13 February 2020.

Back to top

What I found

5. Ms X says three different tenants at the neighbouring property caused her noise nuisance in 2016, 2017 and 2019. The Council says Ms X’s complaint is about its actions in 2017. It monitored the situation for two months between the report of a problem and the second tenant leaving the property.
6. In June 2019 Ms X reported to the Council that the 3rd tenant had returned home at four in the morning with friends and resumed making a noise. The Council in reply said it intended to write warning letters to the tenant and landlord. In the February 2020 meeting with Ms X the Council suggested mediation might be a way forward, but the discussion was largely about events in 2017.
7. On 14 August 2019 Ms X complained to the Council having read records supplied following her subject access request. Ms X says she had sent the Council numerous diary sheets. Then in August 2017, following an incident involving her daughter, she asked the Council to temporarily rehouse them. She says the Council refused saying it was not considered there was a threat of violence. Ms X criticises the Council’s communication with her at the time and says she was wondering what was being done. She also refers to the damaging impact on her health.
8. Ms X tells me, in her reply to my draft decision, that she did not complain to the Council until 2019 because it was only then that she saw the Council’s records from 2017. She says its failing became apparent to her.

Analysis

9. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
10. Events before September 2018 are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction on the 12 month rule (see paragraph 3 above). Ms X complains late about what happened in 2016 and 2017.
11. I will not exercise discretion to investigate because Ms X could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner. Ms X knew that the Council had refused to rehouse her in 2017 and the impact of the problem on her (see paragraph 7 above). She could have complained at the time. The issue was resolved in October 2017, when the tenant moved out, and I do not consider it a good use of limited public resources to investigate nearly three years later.
12. I have not seen evidence of an ongoing anti-social or noise nuisance problem. Ms X has not complained to the Council since her report of noise in June 2019 and her complaint to it that August.

Back to top

Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to deal properly with the reports of anti-social behaviour from 2016. The complaint is largely outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because Ms X complains late on the 12 month rule. There is no evidence of an ongoing problem.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman