Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council handled her reports about the condition of her property and that waste was left in her garden prior to her moving in. We have not found the Council at fault for how it responded to Ms X’s reports about the condition of her property but have found the Council at fault for how it dealt with her reports about the waste left in her garden. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and arrange to have the waste removed from her garden.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about how the Council has responded to her reports about the condition of her property and that waste was left in her garden prior to her moving in.

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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. 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

4. As part of this investigation I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I sent a draft of this decision to Ms X and the Council for comments.

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What I found

5. Ms X lives in temporary accommodation provided by the Council. The Council leased the property from a private owner. The agreement between the Council and property owner shows the property owner is responsible for any issues relating to damp and mould and the Council is responsible for other issues.
6. Ms X moved into her property in July 2022. This was temporary accommodation provided by the Council.
7. In July 2023, Ms X raised concerns about black bags containing rubbish at the end of her garden. Ms X said these were meant to be removed by the Council prior to her moving into the property.
8. After looking into the matter the Council raised a job in August 2023 with its housing repairs service to remove the waste in the garden. The Council’s housing repairs service said it booked an appointment on 8 November 2023 to clear the rubbish. Ms X said she did not receive confirmation of this and the rubbish had not been removed.
9. In early December 2023, Ms X complained to the Council about the rubbish in the garden not being collected. Ms X also complained there was damp and mould in the property.
10. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in mid-December 2023. The Council said it had arranged an appointment to inspect the property and once it has done this would arrange for any repairs which were needed.
11. The Council visited Ms X’s property on 15 December 2023 to inspect the damp and mould and identified the following repairs:
• The extractor fan needed repaired in the bathroom.
• The ceiling in the front room needed redecorating following a leak.
• There was a high level moisture reading in the front room. The guttering above the external side wall to this room was leaking and causing water to pass into the front room. The damaged guttering needed replaced or repaired.
• There was mould appearing around base of the UPVC door in the bedroom facing the garden. The Council’s damp and mould surveyor advised that a vent needed to be placed lower as moisture was being trapped in the air due to the height of the vent in the room.
• The draft excluder around the communal door and letterbox needed replaced. The gap was causing a draft to go into the ground floor flat.
12. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at the next stage of its process. Ms X said the Council had not carried out any repairs to the property and the rubbish was still in her garden.
13. In early January 2024, the Council wrote to the owner of Ms X’s property and told them to complete a list of repairs by early February 2024. This included fixing the guttering causing water ingress in the front room, the moving of the air vent in the bedroom and repairing the communal door.
14. The Council also wrote to Ms X and told her it had contacted the owner of the property about these repairs. The Council said it would complete the other repairs it had identified.
15. The Council visited Ms X’s property in January 2024 and noted there were bulk items in the garden which needed to be removed. The Council asked its housing repairs service to reschedule an appointment to remove these items.
16. On 31 January 2024, the Council provided Ms X with its final complaint response. The Council said:
• It arranged an appointment for 23 November 2023 to remove the rubbish in the garden but noted Ms X said she was not notified of this. The Council said it had now rescheduled this appointment and she should hear from its contractor to arrange for the removal of the rubbish.
• It had installed new carpets in Ms X’s property on 20 January 2024.
• It had repaired the bathroom fan and had booked an appointment to carry out the ceiling redecoration.
• It had contacted the owner of the property after it visited in December 2023 and asked them to carry out repairs to the front room guttering, air vent and communal front door.
17. Ms X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman. Ms X said the repairs had been completed but the removal of the waste from the garden had still not been carried out.

Analysis

18. When Ms X moved into the property it was agreed that the waste in the garden would be collected. In response to my enquiries the Council said that its voids team believed the garden was clear but when the Council visited the property in January 2024 there was rubbish in the garden.
19. After Ms X reported that the rubbish had not been removed, the Council booked an appointment to remove this in November 2023. It is not clear why it took the Council so long to do this from when Ms X reported this in July 2023. This was fault.
20. Ms X said she was not aware of the appointment booked by the Council for November 2023 and it was not clear whether anyone came to clear the rubbish from the garden. On balance I am satisfied the Council has not cleared the rubbish from Ms X’s garden. Ms X says she cannot use the garden properly and the bags of waste have attracted pests.
21. In relation to the mould and damp issues Ms X reported, the Council sent a surveyor to inspect the property and from this drew up a list of repairs which were needed. The Council arranged to complete the repairs it was responsible for under the lease agreement and worked with the owner of the property to arrange for the repairs they were responsible for under the lease agreement. I have not found the Council at fault for how it dealt with this.

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Agreed action

22. Within one month of my final decision the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Apologise to Ms X for the time take to remove the rubbish from her garden.
• Remove the rubbish from the Ms X’s garden.
23. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation and found there was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The Council agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman