Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of the installation of a shower room at her property and the subsequent remedial repairs required. We would not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why she did not complain sooner.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of the installation of a shower room at her property and the subsequent remedial repairs required.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully.
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Ms X owns her own property. In 2017 she applied for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to install a wet room. When work started a number of issues were identified and it was necessary to amend the plans. The works were completed in April 2018 and the Council closed the grant in early May 2018.
8. In June 2018 Ms X complained about a number of defects in the bathroom adaptations, including:
• The shower would stop suddenly when having a shower or cleaning the cubicle. Ms X’s carer would have to switch the shower off and wait a few minutes for it to reset before turning it back on.
• The pump did not drain the water properly which has led to a flood in the bathroom and on several occasions Ms X’s carer had to collect the water in a bucket.
• When the pump did work it was slow;
• Water leaked from the shower screen on to the floor; and
• There was now damp and mould in the bathroom.
9. The Council confirmed it would arrange for the contractor to return to see if any action could be taken. An engineer visited the following week and replaced a faulty valve in the shower. The contractor also installed a new pump in early July 2018. Unfortunately the new pump did not drain the water and Ms X’s flat flooded.
10. The contractor visited again and Ms X confirmed on 10 July 2018 that the pump was now working well.
11. In 2019 Ms X asked for the shower chair to be changed as it was not suitable and she kept injuring herself using it. She says the Council’s OT service provided a replacement but this could not be installed due to the design of the shower.
12. In August 2024 Ms X made a formal complaint about the problems she had experienced with the shower since its installation. Ms X said the shower had never drained properly and about a month earlier had stopped draining entirely. She told the Council she had contacted the manufacturer who refused to access the pump due to the way it had been installed. And a plumber, who had attended, had been shocked by the way the shower and pump had been fitted.
13. Ms X told the Council she had not been able to have a proper shower since June 2024. She asked the Council to look into the matter.
14. The Council did not respond to Ms X’s complaint.
15. Ms X asked the Housing Ombudsman Service to investigate her concerns, but as this was not within their jurisdiction, they directed Ms X to the Ombudsman. Ms X contacted us in July 2025. She complained the work carried out under the DFG arranged by the Council was substandard with no proper access for repairs and maintenance. Ms X also complained the shower room is significantly smaller than the original design, and the amendments make it difficult and unsafe to access.
16. She would like the Council to arrange for a full inspection of the shower room and plumbing by an independent qualified professional and to rectify all of the installation faults. Ms X would also like the Council to rebuild or redesign the shower room in line with the original agreed plans to ensure it is accessible and safe for her.
17. Ms X says that she did not complain to the Ombudsman in 2018 as she was liaising directly with the installer and the Council. She was then seriously ill during the COVID pandemic and says her health has deteriorated.

Analysis

18. As set out above, there are restrictions on the issues that we can investigate. We expect people to raise their complaints within 12 months of them becoming aware of the issues they are complaining about. Ms X initially contacted us in July 2025. We would therefore generally only investigate events since July 2024. We do have discretion to consider complaints about events outside this time frame where there are good reasons for the late complaint and we are confident there is a realistic prospect of reaching a sound, fair, and meaningful decision.
19. I recognise that Ms X’s complaint to us was delayed as she initially mistakenly complained to the Housing Ombudsman’s Service who advised her to contact us.
20. Even allowing for this delay I do not consider it appropriate to exercise discretion here to investigate the design and installation of Ms X’s shower room in 2018.
21. Ms X would have been aware of any accessibility or safety issues related to the design of the shower room when the works were completed in 2018. We would have expected her to raise these concerns at that time. While Ms X raised concerns about the shower and pump not working in 2018, she did not complain about the change in design. We would not now investigate Ms X’s concerns about the suitability or design of the shower room.
22. It is clear there were issues with the shower and pump when they were installed in 2018. The contractor carried out remedial works and Ms X confirmed on 10 July 2018 that the issues had been resolved. Ms X says she has continued to have problems with the shower and pump throughout the following years, but there is no record of any further complaints to the Council until August 2024, six years later.
23. Ms X says she was not aware until 2024 that the pump had been installed in a way she describes as unsafe, inaccessible for maintenance and unfit for purpose. She says the problems only came to light when the pump stopped working in 2024 and plumbers refused to access or repair the pump due to the installation method.
24. However, Ms X has told us that she contacted the pump manufacturer while the pump was still under warranty and they refused to attend as it had not been properly installed. Ms X is unhappy the manufacture said it would charge Ms X for any repairs. I note the manufacturer offers a standard three year warranty, which can be extended to five years. This means, assuming the warranty was extended, Ms X contacted the manufacturer by the Spring of 2023 at the latest. If the warranty had not been extended Ms X must have contacted the manufacturer and been aware of installation concerns by the Spring of 2021.
25. We would not now investigate how the shower and pump were installed in 2018. It was open to Ms X to raise these issues much sooner and there are no good reasons why she did not.
26. Ms X is unhappy the Council did not respond to her complaint in 2024. We would not investigate this issue. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are not investigating the substantive issue.

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Decision

27. We will not investigate this complaint. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons why Ms X did not complain sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman