Summary: Mrs C complained how the Council has handled waste management issues at a block of flats near to where she lives. We find the Council was at fault for its delays in progressing the matter and its failure to evidence it has considered all its powers to resolve the issues. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs C complained how the Council has handled waste management issues at a block of flats near to where she lives. She says the Council’s failure to tackle the issues has led to a rat infestation and it has affected her quality of life and mental health.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
4. 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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

5. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints unless there are good reasons to. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. Mrs C refers to matters from March 2020, but she did not refer her complaint to us until August 2023. I have exercised discretion to investigate matters from May 2022 onwards because it was an ongoing issue and Mrs C struggled to get a formal response to her complaint. I have not investigated matters before May 2022 because I am satisfied Mrs C could have reasonably referred those concerns to us sooner.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Mrs C. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
7. Mrs C and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

The Environmental Protection Act 1990

8. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the Act) gives councils powers to require occupiers and landowners to remove waste unlawfully deposited on land (known as ‘fly-tipping’). Councils are responsible for waste that has been fly-tipped on ‘relevant’ land. ‘Relevant land’ means land that is open to the air on at least one side, is under the council’s direct control, and is publicly accessible (with or without payment).
9. Councils also have powers to require owners of private land to clear litter, rubbish or controlled waste.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

10. Section 2 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (2014 Act) defines ASB as conduct:

1. That has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm, or distress to any person.
2. Capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises.
3. Capable of causing housing related nuisance or annoyance to any person.

11. Councils have a general duty to tackle ASB. But ASB can take many different forms; and when someone reports a problem, councils should decide which of their powers is most suitable.
12. Councils and the police can issue community protection notices (CPN) to prevent ASB which is unreasonable and having a negative effect on the community's quality of life. A CPN requires the behaviour to stop and, where appropriate, require the recipient to take reasonable steps to stop it happening again. Not complying is an offence and may result in a fine or a fixed penalty notice. Before issuing a CPN a council must first issue the recipient with a formal written warning, with timescales for compliance. These warnings are often called community protection warnings (CPW).

What happened

13. This chronology gives an overview of key events and does not detail everything that happened.
14. Mrs C lives near to a block of flats. The flats are in the Council’s area, but a neighbouring Council (Council X) is the freeholder of them. Council X leases the flats to an organisation (Organisation A). Organisation A manages the flats. The Council is responsible for collecting waste from the flats.
15. Mrs C has experienced issues with the tenants who live in the flats not disposing of their waste properly and fly-tipping for many years. She contacted her MP about the issues in May 2022.
16. The Council visited the flats a couple of weeks later and noted the fly-tipping issues. It contacted Council X and Organisation A. It said the freeholder of the land was responsible for picking up the litter. It said it had no obligation to collect overflowing or poorly presented waste unless it had been agreed. It asked what the cleansing regime was and whether tenants had a noticeboard so they could contact either organisation to remove the waste.
17. The Council issued the tenants with CPWs regarding waste presentation and fly-tipping in late May. It also emailed Mrs C with an update. It said it was waiting for a response from Council X/Organisation A. It said if it did not receive a response, it would arrange a meeting.
18. The Council emailed Mrs C’s MP in late August. It said it would provide anti fly-tipping signs and ask for Organisation A to erect them.
19. Mrs C contacted the Council in September. She said the matter had not been resolved and she had not heard anything further. She asked for an update on whether it was going to take enforcement action against Council X, Organisation A or the tenants. She also asked whether Council X or Organisation A would install CCTV and whether anti fly-tipping signs had been installed at the site. The Council responded and said it had chased colleagues and suggested a meeting to discuss the issues.
20. Mrs C contacted the Council in late October and asked for an update. She also sent an email to her MP in December and copied in the Council, Council X and Organisation A. She said the issues had deteriorated and the Council had not installed the signs. Organisation A responded said it had arranged to collect items left on the land weekly.
21. Mrs C emailed the Council and Organisation A in January 2023. She said there was a rat infestation around the bin cupboards at the back of her house. The Council responded and confirmed it was going to attend the site. It said it would deliver a joint warning letter with Organisation A and make it clear to residents how to use the bin facilities. It said the letter would explain any party responsible for fly-tipping would be subject to a joint investigation with Organisation A. It said it was not going to install CCTV, but it would review its position if the situation did not change. It also said it was going to install anti fly-tipping signs in the area.
22. Mrs C continued to email Organisation A and the Council about the fly-tipping and the rat infestation. She said the warning letters and signs had not resolved matters. Organisation A said it had engaged the Council’s pest control department to deal with the rats. It also said it had bought extra bins from the Council and it had installed locks on the bin cupboard doors to prevent unauthorised access.
23. Mrs C emailed the Council in June and provided evidence of a tenant leaving a fridge near to her house. She signed a witness statement, and confirmed she was happy for the Council to use her photographs. However, she said she wanted it to keep her details confidential. The Council investigated the matter. It closed the case as it did not receive any admissions of guilt.
24. Mrs C emailed her MP in August and September and said the measures implemented by the Council and Organisation A had not resolved matters. The Council responded and said most of the issues were for Council X/Organisation A to resolve. It said Council X had sent advisory letters to all tenants, and it was attending the site regularly.
25. Mrs C sent a further email in December and said for 10 days tenants had left rubbish outside, and this was making the rat infestation worse. She said CCTV and enforcement action were the only measures that would work. Mrs C’s MP emailed the Council and asked it to consider taking enforcement action. The Council responded and re-iterated the issues were mainly for Organisation A to deal with. It said it would contact Organisation A and ask it to provide a further update.
26. Organisation A emailed Mrs C in January 2024. It said the measures it had implemented had improved matters. It said CCTV management was complex and expensive. It said it did not have the resources nor manpower for door knocking exercises to find the perpetrators who were responsible for the ongoing issues.

Back to top

Analysis

27. Councils have a general duty to tackle ASB in their area. They also have powers to require owners of private land to clear litter, rubbish or controlled waste. Therefore, while Council X and Organisation A own and manage the flats, the Council also has powers to intervene. We expect councils to work together with other agencies to identify, assess and tackle reports of ASB. In this case, the Council has done some work with Council X and Organisation A to try and provide solutions to the issues. This has resulted in the Council attending the site, installing anti fly-tipping signs, increasing the bin provisions, issuing CPWs, sending warning letters to tenants and encouraging Organisation A to increase the cleansing regime on the site.
28. However, while I recognise the Council’s efforts, on some occasions it has been slow to respond and resolve the issues. This is fault. It said in May 2022 it would arrange a meeting with Organisation A if it did not receive a response to its emails. I have not seen any evidence Organisation A responded or the Council chased matters until it received follow up communication from Mrs C and her MP. Mrs C also said in her emails from September, October, and December 2022 the issues were not resolved. The Council did not take any substantive action until January 2023. It said in its email in late August 2022 it would install anti fly-tipping signs. It did not install the signs until February 2023. The Council’s faults have caused Mrs C frustration and upset. She has been inconvenienced by having to repeat herself. She is also left with uncertainty about whether the outcome would have been different, and the rat infestation may have been avoided, if the Council had acted more quickly.
29. Mrs C wants the Council to take enforcement action against Council X, Organisation A and the perpetrators. She says such action would force Organisation A to install CCTV and penalise the perpetrators. It is clear while the issues have improved, they have not been completely resolved. Mrs C has repeatedly raised this in her correspondence. The Council told Mrs C in September and December 2023 the problems were mainly for Organisation A/Council X to resolve. This is not true. As I have explained in paragraph 27 of this statement, the Council does have powers to tackle ASB in its area. When Mrs C continued to raise her concerns, the Council should have reviewed matters further and decided whether any other action, including enforcement action, was necessary to resolve the longstanding issues. I have not seen any evidence the Council has fully considered this. This fault has caused Mrs C further uncertainty about whether the outcome would have different if the Council had fully reviewed matters sooner.

Back to top

Agreed action

30. By 15 August 2024 the Council has agreed to:

• Apologise to Mrs C for the injustice caused by the fault identified in this statement.
• Pay Mrs C £250 for her frustration, upset, inconvenience and uncertainty.
• Review the file to identify whether there is any further action it should take under its general ASB powers. It should clearly record its decision and send a letter to Mrs C with the outcome.

31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

32. There was fault by the Council, which caused Mrs C an injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations and so I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman