Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr D’s complaint about hazards at his privately rented property and the way the Council has dealt with his complaint. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr D, complains the Council has not taken action to ensure his landlord resolves hazards and provides adequate bins. Mr D also complains about the way the Council dealt with his complaints. Mr D says the matter has left him stressed and aggravated his ongoing health issues.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information Mr D provided and the Ombudsman’s role and powers. I sent a draft decision to Mr D and considered the comments he made in reply before I made my final decision.

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What I found

5. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) affects all owners and landlords of private sector and social rented properties. Where a tenant complains to a local authority that there are hazards in their home, the local authority will carry out an assessment against the HHSRS. An assessment will identify any Category 1 hazards (serious hazards, where a local authority has a duty to take appropriate action. This could include informal resolution) and Category 2 hazards (less serious hazards where a local authority has discretion whether to take any action).
6. The Council visited Mr D’s property in September 2019 and identified ‘very minor category two hazards none of which required formal action by this Service’ Mr D has also complained there are insufficient bins for the properties and that the Council officer initially agreed with this but then changed their mind and said there are adequate bins. Mr D says the Council failed to properly inspect the communal area of the flats, or his bath, saying this was not part of the fixtures and fittings.
7. While Mr D disagrees with the Council’s decisions about hazards, the bath and the bin provision, the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Ombudsman can only criticise the Council if its decision is made with fault. As officers have visited Mr D’s property, conducted an inspection, viewed the available bins and considered the HHSRS before making their decision, there is no reason to criticise the way the decisions were made.
8. The Council has accepted it delayed writing to Mr D’s landlord to confirm the outcome of the inspection and the category 2 hazards they had identified, but has now taken this action and further consideration of a complaint would not achieve any more for Mr D. The Council has explained the hazards do not warrant any enforcement action and they are now matters for Mr D to resolve with his landlord.
9. Mr D has raised further complaints about the service he has received from the Council and the response it has provided to his complaints. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate a Council’s complaint handling as a separate matter when he is not investigating the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman