London Borough of Ealing (24 017 907)
Category : Housing > Homelessness
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council did not clean her accommodation properly before she moved in. This is because we could not add to the Council’s investigation on the matter to achieve anything further.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council did not clean the accommodation before she moved in. She said she found food debris and mess along with a pest infestation upon her arrival.
- Miss X paid for professional cleaning and pest control treatment. She wants the Council to reimburse these costs in full.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In its complaint response, the Council notes a delay in facilitating pest control treatment, meaning Miss X had to pay to treat her property. It offered to reimburse Miss X for the cost of the pest control treatment.
- On the condition of her property, the Council said its records show that Miss X’s accommodation had been cleaned before her arrival. So, it would not reimburse the professional cleaning charges. I appreciate Miss X is unhappy, but we could not add to the Council’s investigation in this regard to find anything further. Therefore, I will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman