Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council withheld a refund from the complainant to pay for a historic housing related debt. This is because we have no power to investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, says the Council has not refunded £338 to her. Ms X wants the refund.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

5. Ms X lived in a Council property from 2003 to 2007. After she moved out the Council had to do some repairs. The Council decided Ms X had to pay for the repairs which cost £846. Ms X did not make any payments.
6. In September 2020 Ms X moved out of another Council property. There were two credit balances on the rent account which Ms X requested as a refund. The Council did not refund the money to Ms X but used the credit to reduce the debt for the repairs. The debt for the repairs then fell to £216.
7. In response to the complaint the Council said it has a duty to collect any money owed to the Council. It also said that a condition of the Council tenancy agreement is that the Council will deduct any money that is owed to the housing service from any money owed to the resident by the Council.
8. Ms X disagrees with the Council’s decision and wants the Council to pay her the £338.

Assessment

9. The law says we cannot investigate complaints about a council when it is acting as a landlord. In this case, the Council was acting as a landlord in 2006 when it decided Ms X must pay for the repairs. And, it was acting as a landlord in 2020 when it decided the rent credit must be used to reduce the debt for the repairs. I have no power to investigate any part of the complaint.

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Final decision

10. I cannot investigate this complaint because we have no power to investigate decisions made by a council when it is acting as a landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman