Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the management of social housing, antisocial behaviour, parking issues and highway disrepair. Part of the complaint is late, we cannot investigate the Council’s actions as a social landlord, the courts are better placed to consider a personal injury claim, and we could not add to its response about parking enforcement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to address housing maintenance issues and respond appropriately to her complaints about antisocial behaviour and inappropriate contractor conduct and failed to adequately enforce against parking offences. She also complains it has failed to maintain the highway which has caused personal injury.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. 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. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms X’s complaint refers to a variety of issues over several years. We cannot investigate a complaint about the Council’s actions before 2024 because this is late. If Ms X was dissatisfied before this time, she could have approached us sooner. There is no good reason to investigate now.
9. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaints about the management of her social housing, contractors working on its behalf, housing disrepair or antisocial behaviour. Ms X is a Council tenant and so the Council’s actions related to these matters were in its role as a social landlord. The law says we cannot investigate council actions that relate to management of its social housing.
10. Ms X also complained the Council was not doing enough to enforce unauthorised parking in disabled bays. In its complaint response, the Council stated its enforcement officers issued penalty notices where appropriate and in response to her complaint, would increase its monitoring of her street. This is an appropriate response to her complaint. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we would achieve anything further.
11. We will also not investigate her complaint about highway disrepair. If Ms X considers the Council to be negligent and that this has led to personal injury, this is better considered by the courts. Only a court can decide if the Council is liable for a personal injury and if so, award compensation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late, we cannot investigate the Council’s actions in its role as social landlord, we could not add to its response about parking enforcement and the courts are better placed to consider a personal injury claim.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman