Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s decisions to issue a fine and notices to complete works on her rental property. It was reasonable for her to use her appeal rights. We will also not investigate how the Council inspected her property for hazards. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains about how the Council handled maintenance and licensing matters for her rental property. She says this caused her distress. She wants the Council to apologise, withdraw the fine it issued, and ensure its officers act professionally going forward.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I also considered the Council’s Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy.

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My assessment

7. In July 2025, the Council served Mrs B with two statutory notices requiring works to her rental property. The notices each included information about how Mrs B could appeal the matter to the magistrates’ court.
8. The Council also issued Mrs B with a fine for not holding a valid licence under its Selective Licensing Scheme. In August 2025, it served her with a final notice to pay the fine, which included information about how she could appeal the matter to the First-tier Tribunal.
9. We will not investigate this part of Mrs B’s complaint. It was reasonable to expect her to use her appeal rights if she disagreed with the Council’s decisions.
10. Mrs B also complains the Council repeatedly visited her rental property, raising new issues which were not relevant to whether it was safe or habitable. She says its visits were excessive and the officer managing her case was hostile.
11. In its complaint response, the Council said it was satisfied its visits were appropriate and its officer had acted professionally. It said it wrote to Mrs B about the hazards it found and visited to check if repairs were complete. As it still found hazards at its latest inspection, it said it would visit again to check the matters were resolved to its satisfaction.
12. We will not investigate this part of Mrs B’s complaint. The Council’s actions were in line with its enforcement policy. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it was reasonable to expect her to use her appeal rights, and there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating the Council’s inspections of her property for hazards.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman