Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about rental payments Mr Q believes he is owed for a property he leased to the Council under its private sector leasing scheme. This is because he may go to court. Nor will we investigate Mr Q’s complaint about the Council’s failure to give him information about his property. The Information Commissioner is better placed to consider this part of the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs D has complained on behalf of Mr Q about the actions of the London Borough of Wandsworth. Among other things, Mrs D said the Council wrongly terminated the lease for a property Mr Q leased to the Council under its private sector leasing scheme. As a result, he has lost rental income from his property. Mrs D also complained the Council has failed to provide information which would enable Mr Q to decide whether the Council is in breach of the lease.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe there is another body better placed to consider the complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. The Information Commissioner’s Office considers complaints about subject access requests. So where we receive complaints about a council’s failure to respond (or a failure to respond properly) to a subject access request, we normally consider it reasonable for the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Mrs D provided. I considered the information the Council provided. I considered Mrs D’s and Mr Q’s comments on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Background

7. The Council operates a private sector leasing (PSL) scheme for landlords. Among other things, the PSL scheme guarantees

• the Council will return the property at the end of the lease period in its original condition, except for wear and tear; and
• monthly rental payments will be made for the period of the lease, regardless of any void periods.

8. The Council can end a lease early, in certain circumstances.

What happened

9. Mr Q leased his property to the Council several years ago. The lease period was due to end in July 2020.
10. Mr Q contacted the Council in February 2020 about a related matter. It told him his property was in a poor condition and needed refurbishing. It gave Mr Q seven days’ notice terminating the lease.
11. Mr Q complained to the Council about damage tenants had done to his property and furniture missing from it. He also complained the Council had terminated the lease too early, contrary to the terms of the lease.
12. The Council agreed to compensate Mr Q for the damage done to his property and for his missing furniture. But it refused to pay any rent between February 2020 (when it gave Mr Q seven days’ notice) and July 2020 (when the lease was due to end). The Council does not accept it broke the terms of the lease.
13. Mrs D said the Council had failed to give Mr Q information about his property which would enable him to decide whether the Council had broken the terms of the lease.

Assessment

14. We will not investigate this complaint.
15. If Mr Q believes the Council has broken the terms of the lease he may take the matter to court. It would be reasonable for Mr Q to go to court to enforce the terms of the lease and to recover his unpaid rent.
16. Mr Q also believes he needs information from the Council to determine whether it has broken the terms of the lease. It is open to Mr Q to make a subject access request. If the Council does not respond, or if Mr Q is unhappy with its response, he may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office. It is better placed to consider this part of the complaint and so it would be reasonable for Mr Q to pursue it there.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate this complaint for the reasons given in the Assessment.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman