Summary: Mr X complains that the Council did not apply the proper discounts before charging him for a property licence. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the Council has agreed to take appropriate action to remedy any injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council did not apply the proper discount before charging him for a property licence.
2. Mr X also complains that the Council does not do enough to tell new landlords that their property needs a licence.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the complaint and the information provided by Mr X.
5. I asked the Council for its comments and considered its response.
6. I have written to Mr X with my draft decision and given him an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

7. Mr X is the landlord of a property which needs a selective licence.
8. In November 2018 the Council wrote to Mr X to tell him that his property was unlicensed. Mr X applied for the licence.
9. The Council charges fees for selective licences. The Council adds an extra £100 to the fee to cover investigation time for properties it has found to be unlicensed.
10. The Council also offers a discount of £100 to applicants who provide all the needed safety and performance certificates either prior to or within three months of a licence being granted.
11. In May 2019, the Council wrote to Mr X outlining the fees due. The Council charged Mr X the extra £100 fee for unlicensed properties. It did not apply any discounts to his application fee.
12. Mr X provided copies of two of the three safety and performance certificates needed to benefit from the £100 discount. He did not provide an electricity installation condition report (EICR).
13. Mr X says the Council told him that he did not need to provide the third certificate. The Council does not have a record of whether it told Mr X that he did need to provide the third certificate.

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Analysis

14. The Council does not have to tell new landlords that their property needs a licence. It is the responsibility of the landlord to make sure their property has all the necessary licences.
15. The Ombudsman should not investigate this part of the complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
16. Mr X believes that he provided all the certificates needed to benefit from the discount.
17. The Ombudsman should not investigate this part of the complaint further. We cannot say that the Council properly advised Mr X in this matter but its agreement to apply the discount provides a suitable remedy. If we were to investigate, it is unlikely that we would recommend anything further.

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Agreed action

18. The Council has agreed to apply the £100 discount to Mr X’s fee if he provides the electricity installation condition report.

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Final decision

19. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council proposes to take.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman