Durham County Council (25 021 612)
Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 03 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a selective licence issued by the Council. Mr X had a right of appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal about this issue, and it would be reasonable to expect him to have used it.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about a selective licence issued by the Council for his rental property. Mr X said the Council issued the licence for 18 months, although he had been told it would be issued for five years.
- Mr X said this impacted him financially.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained the Council issued the selective licence for a shorter period than he sought.
- The Housing Act 2004 says a selective licence holder, within 28 days of the Council’s decision to issue the licence, can appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) about the conditions of it. This includes the length of time it has been issued for.
- It would be reasonable for Mr X to have used this right because it is set out in law, and the Tribunal can tell the Council to grant the licence on different terms. We cannot tell the Council to do so.
- As outlined in paragraph four, we cannot investigate complaints where a person has a right of appeal to a Tribunal and where we expect it reasonable for them to have used it.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he had a right of appeal to a Tribunal and it would have been reasonable to expect him to have used it.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman