Middlesbrough Borough Council (21 004 475)

Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 29 Nov 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complained about the consultation process and basis on which the Council decided to continue a selective licensing area scheme. There was no fault.

The complaint

  1. Mr X is a landlord with multiple properties. He complained the Council’s decision to designate the area where he has some of his properties as a selective licensing area (SLA) was flawed because:
    • it failed to take the objections received during the consultation process into account; and
    • the data and evidence it presented did not meet the criteria set down in law which had to be met before a selective licensing scheme could be introduced.
  2. Mr X said that as a result he had been financially disadvantaged.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I spoke to Mr X and considered his view of his complaint.
  2. I considered the reports and minutes from the relevant Council meetings on the Council’s website.
  3. I gave Mr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision before I make my final decision.

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What I found

Summary of relevant law and guidance

Selective housing scheme

  1. Councils have the power to introduce selective licensing of privately rented homes to tackle particular problems in their areas. An area designated by a council for such an approach is called a selective licensing area (SLA). Landlords renting out properties in an SLA must obtain a licence from the council for each of their properties. An SLA licence contains conditions which landlords must meet.
  2. When the legislation was initially introduced councils could introduce SLAs where there were issues with low housing demand and significant problems caused by anti-social behaviour (ASB) related to tenants of, or visitors to, rented properties.
  3. In 2015, the government widened the criteria for designating SLAs to include poor housing conditions and high levels of deprivation, crime and migration.
  4. Councils can charge a licence fee in SLAs to cover the costs of managing the scheme.

Council decision making process

  1. Every Council has a constitution which lays out, amongst other things, how it will make decisions.
  2. Generally, most significant decisions are made by committees. These comprise elected councillors. Officers often prepare reports for committees which may contain a recommendation as to the outcome sought by the council officers.
  3. Most councils, including Middlesbrough Borough Council, has a committee, usually comprising senior councillors, which makes certain policy decisions. It is this committee, called the Executive Committee at Middlesbrough Borough Council, which is responsible for making decisions about selective licensing areas.

What happened

Decision-making process

  1. Several years ago, the Council designated the area where Mr X owns rental properties as an SLA. This was due to end in 2020.
  2. Prior to it ending, Council officers prepared a report to the Council’s Executive Committee. This was to consider whether the scheme had met its original objectives and whether it should be renewed or another course of action considered which did not require continued designation of the area as an SLA. The report evaluated the current SLA scheme.
  3. The report stated the scheme had resulted in some improvements, for example in lower levels of ASB and crime, and empty properties but there were still concerns about these and other issues.
  4. The report recommended the area remain an SLA because of:
    • low housing demand; and
    • a significant and persistent ASB problem.
  5. The report requested the Executive Committee make several decisions, including the start of a consultation about the future of the scheme. The minutes of the meeting showed the Executive Committee agreed these recommendations.
  6. The Council carried out a consultation and reported back to the Executive Committee.
  7. The report set out how officers had carried out the consultation. It attached a summary of the responses received from tenants, who were mostly in favour of the scheme, and landlords, who were not.
  8. The report stated which criteria in paragraphs 9 and 10 had been met. It presented evidence to support that view. The report also considered alternative schemes or ways of working if the SLA scheme was discontinued.
  9. Officers recommended the SLA scheme be continued. The minutes of the meeting show the Executive Committee granted approval for the scheme to continue.

Mr X’s complaints

  1. Mr X was unhappy and complained to the Council. He said the Council had:
    • failed to take the objections received during the consultation process into account;
    • failed to consider the reasons behind some of the data it had included, such as why there were empty properties in the SLA and why house values were so low;
    • failed to provide evidence that ASB was higher in the SLA than in other parts of the Council area; and
    • profiteered from the licence fees it charged.
  2. M X said because the Council had demonstrated there had been improvements in the SLA, it no longer met the criteria required for an SLA scheme.
  3. The Council responded to Mr X. The key points it made were:
    • Its report to the Executive Committee contained details of the objections received;
    • it only had to meet one of the government criteria, laid out above in paragraphs 9 and 10. The Council was satisfied it met conditions in relation to low housing demand and ASB. The area also had a high proportion of private rented properties and suffered from deprivation and crime;
    • although there had been improvements over the lifetime of the scheme, the SLA still experienced persistent ASB and a high proportion of private rented properties within an area suffering from deprivation and crime; and
    • the licence fees had been set to ensure the SLA scheme was self-financing.
  4. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

  1. Mr X disagrees with the decisions made by the Council. However, the Ombudsman is not an appeal body. We cannot question decisions which have been made without fault. And even if we did identify fault in the decision-making process, we would not re-analyse data or substitute our views for those of the Council. Instead, we would recommend it reconsider its decision, this time without fault.
  2. The Council carried out appropriate research, evaluated the results in line with the requirements set out in law and made recommendations to the relevant decision-making body in line with its constitution. The Council followed the appropriate procedural steps and there was no fault in its actions.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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