Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaints about insect infestation at her property and the Council’s decision to restrict her communication. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about the actions of a registered social landlord. And further consideration of a complaint about Ms B’s restricted communication is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms B, complains her flat is infested with botflies and cockroaches and she has suffered from maggots and flies in her eye, ear and leg. Ms B says the Council has keys to her flat and has put the creatures through windows and the door. Ms B complains the Council will not deal with the infestation or move her to bed and breakfast accommodation. Ms B says the Council will not take her calls and the named officer she must contact wants her to die in her current flat.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
4. 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)
5. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information provided by Ms B and have discussed the complaint with her. I sent a draft decision to Ms B and discussed the complaint again before sending my final decision.

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What I found

7. Ms B says the Council has keys to her flat and has visited and infested it with botflies and cockroaches. Ms B says she has infected insect bites and wants the Council to move her to a hostel or to bed and breakfast accommodation. She complains the Council has not visited to deal with the pests and will not answer her telephone calls. The Council has restricted Ms B’s communication and said she can only speak to one named member of staff.
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms B’s complaints about the infestation in her property and that the Council has not moved her. Ms B is the tenant of a housing association. It is Ms B’s landlord’s responsibility to respond to her complaints about the condition of the property. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) cannot investigate complaints about social landlords. Ms B can approach the Housing Ombudsman to see if it can consider these complaints.
9. Ms B wants the LGSCO to tell the Council to move her to a hostel or bed and breakfast accommodation. The Ombudsman has no grounds to make such a request and cannot achieve the outcome Ms B wants.
10. Ms B complains the Council has restricted her communication and told her she can only contact one named person. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault. It is for the Council to decide how to manage its resources and can put controls in place if it is concerned a member of the public is being unreasonable in the nature or quantity of their contact.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints about the condition of Ms B’s property. Further consideration of a complaint about the restriction on Ms B’s communication is unlikely to find fault, and the Ombudsman cannot achieve the outcome Ms B wants.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman