Royal Borough of Greenwich (21 002 907)
Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Jul 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters concerning the alleged running of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and the conduct of one of its officers. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would find fault or add to the Council’s own investigation.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s response to her complaint about the actions of an officer who was involved in investigating the alleged running of an unlicenced HMO by Ms X and a claim of illegal eviction by a former tenant.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
- any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint,
- it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation would find fault or add to the Council’s own investigation.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman