London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (22 001 130)

Statement Upheld Private housing 17-May-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's actions about a property of which Mr X is landlord. On some points, we are unlikely to achieve significantly more than the Council has already done. The point about the lawfulness of the Council's actions is properly for the courts. There is not enough evidence of fault or significant injustice on the Council's alleged bias.

Brentwood Borough Council (21 005 864)

Statement Upheld Private housing 05-May-2022

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's failure to take action about disrepair in his rented property and the way the matter was handled. We have found the Council to be at fault because it failed to carry out an inspection on time and did not progress the case properly afterwards. To remedy the injustice caused by this fault, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X, progress the case and improve its services. We have not found fault with the Council's assessment of the disrepair itself or his claim of discrimination.

Southampton City Council (21 004 788)

Statement Upheld Private housing 04-May-2022

Summary: Mr X complained on behalf of Ms B and Mr C that the Council failed to take action to ensure their landlord completed remedial works to their private rented property within a reasonable time. We found the Council took appropriate action to ensure the landlord completed the required works within a reasonable time given the difficulties caused by COVID-19. We found the Council was at fault in failing to respond to Mr X's correspondence, but this did not cause a significant injustice. The Council also delayed in responding to Mr X's complaint, but the delay was justified given the complexity of the case.

Redditch Borough Council (21 014 856)

Statement Upheld Private housing 25-Apr-2022

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to give notice of visiting her property, issued a notice under Section 76 of the Building Act 1984 which contained incorrect information, requested unnecessary repairs following an inspection of the property and failed to respond to her complaints about this. There is no fault in respect of the visits, inspections and issuing of the notice but there is fault in how the Council dealt with Mrs X's complaints. A suitable remedy is proposed.

North Norfolk District Council (20 011 001)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 19-Apr-2022

Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council's failure to take enforcement action against a neighbouring property. She says the Council's actions have caused her significant distress. We do not find any fault with the Council's actions.

Canterbury City Council (21 016 971)

Statement Upheld Private housing 07-Apr-2022

Summary: Miss B and Mr C complained the Council delayed investigating disrepair to their private rented property, failed to identify hazards and did not take enforcement action against their landlord. They also complained the Council did not follow its complaint procedure. Miss B and Mr C said this caused them disruption and inconvenience. The Council delayed seeking an update about an electrical safety test report and responding to Miss B and Mr C's complaint. This caused Miss B and Mr C injustice. The Council will make a financial payment to remedy this.

Plymouth City Council (21 011 591)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 04-Apr-2022

Summary: There was no fault by the Council. It could have made its responsibilities clearer to Ms B, but it took the appropriate action when she complained that the owner of the property she rents had not repaired the roof.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (21 008 575)

Statement Upheld Private housing 31-Mar-2022

Summary: Mr X complains about disrepair in his property. He says he has issues with damp, mould, and mites. Mr X says the landlord has not resolved the disrepair in the property and the Council has taken no enforcement action against the landlord. He also complains the Council sent him incorrect council tax bills. We find no fault with the action taken by the Council to deal with the disrepair issues in Mr X's property. We find fault with the Council for the incorrect council tax bills. However, the Council has already appropriately remedied this.

West Northamptonshire Council (21 007 070)

Statement Upheld Private housing 22-Mar-2022

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's failure to take effective action to deal with nuisance caused by a derelict residential property next to his home. The Council delayed in producing an options appraisal after it inspected the property in November 2020 and it failed to keep Mr X informed of its plans. These faults had an adverse impact on Mr X for which the Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy.

Rugby Borough Council (20 011 352)

Statement Upheld Private housing 21-Feb-2022

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council's actions in relation to housing disrepair issues she reported. She says the Council took no action against her landlord to resolve the disrepair. She also complains about comments made by a Council officer who referred to her as a serial complainant. We find some fault with the Council's actions. We have made recommendations.