Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the management of social housing tenants and property by the Council’s housing authority. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the management of tenancies by social housing landlords.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to properly enforce tenancy conditions on two neighbouring tenants over the past 5 years. He says the Council’s property is an eyesore and the behaviour of the tenants has made it difficult for him to sell his home which he owns.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
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 considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X owns his own home which is next to a property owned by the Council’s social housing landlord. He says that over the past five years the behaviour of the last two tenants has led to the Council property becoming an eyesore with an overgrown, rubbish-strewn garden, claims of drug use and trespass. He says he has seen rats in the area.
7. He has reported this to the Council and says its housing officers have rarely carried out inspections or kept proper records. The Council says it is unable to release specific details of its involvement with the tenants due to data protection restrictions. The last tenant has vacated the property and it is currently empty.
8. We will not investigate this complaint which is about matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before they complained to us. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
9. We have some discretion to consider older cases in some circumstances. However, in this case we have no discretion to consider a complaint about the management of tenancies by social housing landlords. Even if Mr X had complained to us within 12 months we cannot investigate complaints about social housing landlords.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the management of social housing tenants and property by the Council’s housing authority. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the management of tenancies by social housing landlords.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman