London Borough of Enfield (22 009 230)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to evict tenants who Mr X says have caused anti-social behaviour and damage to his property. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the actions of social housing landlords in the management of their tenants.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council delaying the eviction process after it served notice on his neighbours who are Council tenants for breaches of their tenancy conditions. He says he is concerned that the Council will re-house the tenants if they are evicted and he says this is wrong in law.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says he has been complaining to the Council about the behaviour of his neighbours for several years. He says the Council started eviction proceedings by serving a notice of seeking possession but have done nothing further for months. He says the Council is negotiating with the tenants over rehousing but it should proceed with the eviction.
- Mr X also says that he is concerned the Council will re-house the tenants if they are evicted and that they should be classed as intentionally homeless instead.
- Since 2013 we have had no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the actions of social housing landlords and cannot do so. The investigation of the neighbours’ activity has been dealt with as a tenancy matter by the Council’s housing authority.
- The housing landlord would not be able to disclose information about the neighbour’s homeless situation following any eviction due restrictions on disclosure under the General Data Protection Regulations.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to evict tenants who Mr X says have caused anti-social behaviour and damage to his property. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the actions of social housing landlords in the management of their tenants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman