Summary: Mr X complained the Council had not addressed environmental issues affecting him, causing distress and financial loss. We found the Council at fault for delay in action to keep its land free from rats. We recommended it pays Mr X £500 for distress and reimburse him £3460 for costs incurred. Further that it signposts to us in future.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to address environmental issues on its neighbouring property including rats, a build up of rubbish, and excessive dog mess in the garden. Mr X says the rats entered his property causing damage and affecting his health.
2. Mr X also complains the Council has not addressed repairs needed to the drainage of the neighbouring property, also allowing rats access.

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What I have and have not investigated

3. I have investigated the complaint of rats since 2020 as Mr X has been in contact with the Ombudsman regularly since then and there is possibly ongoing fault and injustice. I have not investigated prior to 2020 as Mr X could have raised any earlier matters to the Ombudsman for investigation sooner if he wished.
4. I have investigated the recent complaints of rubbish and dog mess as these are in time.
5. I have not investigated Mr X’s complaints regarding drainage matters as these were premature at the time he contacted us and it is reasonable to allow the Council opportunity to investigate and reply.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
7. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
8. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
9. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

10. I spoke to Mr X and I reviewed documents provided by Mr X and the Council.
11. I gave Mr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949

12. Section 2 (1) of the Act states:
13. “It shall be the duty of every local authority to take such steps as may be necessary to secure so far as practicable that their district is kept free from rats and mice, and in particular—
• from time to time to carry out such inspections as may be necessary for the purpose aforesaid;
• to destroy rats and mice on land of which they are the occupier and otherwise to keep such land so far as practicable free from rats and mice;
• to enforce the duties of owners and occupiers of land under the following provisions of this Part of this Act, and to carry out such operations as are authorised by those provisions.”
14. Sections 4 and 5 say councils can:
• issue a notice requiring an owner or occupier to carry out works;
• carry out the works and recover costs from the owner if they do not do so; or
• complain to the court about an occupier preventing the owner completing works and seek that the court order the occupier to complete the works.

What happened

15. Mr X lives in a first-floor flat. His neighbour rents the flat below from the Council. Mr X’s living room looks out over his neighbour’s garden.
16. In 2020 the Ombudsman investigated a complaint by Mr X that the Council had failed to take prompt and effective action to address his complaints of rats on its neighbouring property. In October 2020 the Ombudsman found fault and asked the Council to take remedial action including baiting and, the blocking of holes and repair works, both internal and external.
17. In February 2021 the Ombudsman considered evidence provided by the Council and confirmed it was satisfied it had completed its recommendations. The Ombudsman no longer has a copy of the Council’s evidence.
18. In response to enquiries the Council provided a records of works undertaken at the property. It also provided an officer report of February 2021 confirming rodent proofing was competed in November 2020 and confirmed as complete by the tenant.
19. In September 2021 Mr X contacted the Ombudsman again. He said the Council had failed to address rats, build up of rubbish and building disrepair in relation to the flat below. We discontinued our investigation to allow Mr X to first complete the Council’s complaints process.
20. In November 2021 Mr X contacted us again. He said he had raised a new complaint to the Council yet it had still not carried out repairs to prevent rats accessing the property below. He said he had also reported a build up of rubbish to the Council but it took no action and he incurred costs removing this himself.
21. The Council told us Mr X had not completed its complaints process and so we discontinued our investigation to allow it to investigate and respond.
22. The Council sent Mr X its stage 1 response in December 2021. It explained, following inspection it found the fabric of the building was sound and there was no evidence of new rat activity. A section of drainpipe was missing but the remaining pipe was filled with soil and there was no evidence of rats. It had issued a works order for the pipe to be sealed. There was no rubbish in the front garden and it found items stored in the back garden.
23. In response to enquiries the Council provided photos from its December 2021 inspection. I note these support its stage 1 response. Its record of works also show the works to seal the pipe were complete in January 2022.
24. In October 2022 Mr X contacted us again. He said there were holes in the flat below allowing rats to access the building and enter his property. He said the Council had not repaired these following his report in April 2022.
25. We asked the Council if Mr X had completed its complaints process and it said it last provided a stage 1 response in December 2021. We then asked the Council to address the complaint at stage 2. Mr X was unhappy with this. He said the Ombudsman asked the Council to complete the works in 2020 and after three years they remained incomplete.
26. At around the same time Mr X contacted the Council to complain about dog mess and rubbish build up in the garden again.
27. The Council sent Mr X its stage 2 response in November 2022. It explained it tried to complete the repair of holes in the property on 29 July 2022, 8 September and 5 October without success as his neighbour was unavailable to provide access. However, it was able to complete the repair on 3 November. It apologised for the delay. It said if he remained unhappy with the repairs he should advise and it would revisit. It confirmed it would not arrange for rat droppings to be removed from his property. It noted he was liaising with its legal team regarding compensation and referred him to the Housing Ombudsman.
28. Mr X replied that he wanted the Council to remove droppings and disinfect the area. He said he had been unable to live in the property properly for years due to the rats, his mental health had suffered and he had incurred costs replacing damaged property. He later sent the Council photos of his loft to show damage by rats. He said he would have to dispose of all items stored, replace insulation and repair damaged wiring.
29. The Council then told Mr X it would await the outcome of the Ombudsman’s investigation.
30. Mr X contacted us to progress his complaint at the end of December. He said he had since incurred costs paying for the droppings to be removed and had to have his loft re insulated and fumigated due to the amount of droppings.
31. In response to enquiries the Council said, in summary:
• It referred to the Housing Ombudsman in error.
• It had no record of Mr X’s contact April 2022 but it has provided officer notes and supporting documents. These show:
1. Mr X had complained of rubbish dumping, dog mess and other matters (not including rats).
2. In June it visited the property and requested the neighbour clear the garden of rubbish.
3. It updated Mr X in July. Mr X also wanted an update on rats and the filling of an air brick.
4. It visited the property again in July. It found the garden cleared and reminded the tenant to clear dog mess promptly.
5. It updated Mr X later in July and said repairs to the property were pending, mainly to the kitchen plus a hole in a wall by an airbrick.
6. In July it raised a repair request regarding the hole in the wall by the airbrick. The target date for completion was set at 30 days.
7. In September a repair request was raised as “air vent in kitchen wall requires blocking to stop rats entering the flat below” and this was completed in October 2022.
8. In November 2022 it visited the property and found no rubbish and minimal dog mess in the garden. Internal emails show it concluded any rat infestation at that time was not due to any tenancy breach. It has provided photos taken at the time in support.
9. On 18 November a new repair request was raised to fill two holes in the airbricks to stop rats from entering.
32. In response to enquiries Mr X provided:
• Account details recording storage costs on a unit from 2019 to 2023. Mr X explained he could not keep anything in his loft due to the rats.
• A receipt dated 13 December 2022 for £1220 for pest control.
• An invoice dated 17 December 2022 for £5700 to repair and replace items in his property damaged by rats.
33. Mr X added that he also paid £180 for a drain survey though he did not have a receipt for this.
34. In comments on a draft decision the Council said:
• The Council could not use its powers under the Prevention of Damage by Pest Act 1949 to force Mr X’s neighbour to carry out works as he did not have a duty under his tenancy agreement to do so.
• The Council could have considered applying for an order to gain entry to the property however this would have required evidence of the degree of urgency and it was unlikely the threshold for an order to be made given the previous good repair of the property and the limited scope of the necessary works identified. The Council was also mindful of the neighbour’s personal circumstances and there was no evidence he was refusing to comply in allowing access.
• The Council has powers to enforce entry to a property in the event of an emergency, however in this case it did not appear the extent of the disrepair and the remedial works needed constituted an emergency repair where there was legitimate reason to enter the property without consent.
• It requests reconsideration of the extent of the Council’s ability to carry out the identified repairs in a more timely manner given the above.

Findings

35. On the evidence seen I am satisfied the Council carried out rodent proofing at the neighbouring property in November 2020 as recommended by the Ombudsman. I am also satisfied the Council found no ongoing issues upon its inspection in December 2021. I therefore find no ongoing fault.
36. I accept on balance Mr X made various complaints about the state of the neighbouring property in April 2022, including reporting a hole in the wall allowing rats to enter. The evidence provided shows the Council inspected the property and ensured rubbish and dog mess was cleared promptly. I find no fault by the Council regarding these matters.
37. The Council’s records do not say whether it found any evidence of rat activity during its inspection in June and July. However, on the information seen I am satisfied on balance it agreed to repair a hole in the wall to prevent rats accessing the building. I acknowledge the repair was then delayed from July to November 2022 due to lack of access. However, it appears the Council only attempted access on four occasions over this period. Bearing this in mind and given the time taken for repairs, I consider the delay amounts to fault. I note the Council has already apologised for this delay.
38. I have taken account of the Council’s comments regarding the exercise of its powers under the Act and I have removed my initial finding that it had not properly considered using these powers. However, my finding of fault regarding delay remains as above.
39. I am satisfied on balance Mr X suffered from rats for longer due to the Council’s fault. This is injustice. It is not possible to say with certainty rats would not have gained access to his property by other means or whether all the damage to his property can be attributed to the period from July to November 2022. However, on balance I am satisfied the Council’s delay contributed to damage to Mr X’s property. I will therefore recommend it reimburse 50% of the costs he incurred in rectifying this, in addition to a payment for distress. I will not recommend the Council reimburse the costs of a drainage survey as this does not appear to be directly linked to any fault found. And I will not recommend the Council reimburse storage costs as this appears to be an ongoing expense arising before the fault found occurred.
40. Mr X complained about dog mess and rubbish again in October 2022. The Council’s records show it inspected in November and found no issues. I find no fault.
41. The Council did not signpost to the Ombudsman in its final response but referred to the Housing Ombudsman in error. This is fault. This did not cause injustice to Mr X but could affect others in future.
42. I have investigated Mr X’s complaint up to the date of the Council’s final response of 18 November 2022. I note matters are ongoing and that a new repair request was raised on 18 November, but I cannot consider new or ongoing matters.

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Agreed action

43. To remedy the injustice above the Council should carry out the following actions:
44. Within one month:
• Pay Mr X £500 for distress;
• Pay Mr X £3460 to reimburse a proportion of the costs he incurred to rectify damage to his property; and
• Remind complaint handling staff of the Ombudsman’s remit and to signpost to us within a final response where appropriate.
45. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
46. The Council has accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

47. I find the Council at fault for delay in acting to keep its land free from rats. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman