Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council charging a landlord for improvement works identified in 2024. 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.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council placing a charge on a property which he rents to tenants for works which it carried out in default. He says the Council failed to explain why it required the work to be carried out when gas engineers he commissioned did not confirm that the work to the boiler was necessary. He wants the charge on his property deeds removing and compensation for the stress and financial impact he has suffered.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says a property which he rented to a tenant incurred charges for work to the boiler identified by the Council as requiring urgent repairs. He says this contradicts the views of the engineer who installed the boiler and other engineers which he paid to inspect the works the Council identified.
6. He queried the Council’s requirements and said that it did not provide sufficient answers. He made a complaint in May 2024 about the Council’s actions and says he did not receive a satisfactory outcome.
7. We will not investigate this complaint which concerns matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before complaining to us. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished 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.

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Final decision

8. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council charging a landlord for improvement works identified in 2024. 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.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman