Harlow District Council (25 001 541)

Category : Housing > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 02 Jun 2025

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about health and safety issues at a property the Council uses as temporary accommodation. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s decision-making process.

The complaint

  1. In short, Miss X complains the Council has failed to properly investigate her complaint concerning a property she owns, that she rents out to a property management company, which in turn, supplied it to the Council as temporary accommodation.
  2. Miss X would like the Council to remove its tenant from her property as she says her property urgently needs electrical rewiring.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 an investigation if we decide:
  • there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
  1. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Miss X emphasises the urgent nature of the works required to her flat and says it represents a health and safety hazard.
  1. The Council says there is no evidence to support Miss X’s complaint. It says it has checked her concerns and has been provided with the required safety certificates. It advises Miss X to consider enforcing the terms of her contract with the property management company if she is unhappy with its management of her property. It points out that it has no direct arrangement with Miss X.
  2. We will not investigate. It is not our role to decide the merits of the decision the Council made, as our focus is on the decision-making process. The Council appears to have followed the correct process to reach its decision by carrying out its own checks including considering the safety certificates. I appreciate Miss X strongly disagrees, but it is unlikely we would fault.
  3. Miss X’s redress may lie in taking her own legal action against the property management company given she has no agreement with the Council to manage her property.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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