Birmingham City Council (20 006 112)

Statement Upheld Private housing 07-May-2021

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council's decision to enforce a compulsory purchase order. He says the Council did not complete an internal inspection before making the decision, did not tell him what he was failing to comply with, and did not give him an opportunity to correct any short comings. We find fault with the way the Council made its decision to implement the CPO. We have made recommendations.

London Borough of Waltham Forest (20 003 114)

Statement Upheld Private housing 30-Apr-2021

Summary: Ms D complains the Council failed to properly administer her property under its Managed Rent Guaranteed Service. The Council has already told Ms D it failed to carry out management visits to the property and has apologised. The Ombudsman has not found any additional evidence of fault. He has completed the investigation. The complaint is upheld because of the one error by the Council.

London Borough of Brent (20 001 199)

Statement Upheld Private housing 15-Apr-2021

Summary: Ms X complained on behalf of Mrs Y, a private tenant, about the way the Council used its housing enforcement powers to address poor housing conditions in her flat. She also complained about the Council's handling of Mrs Y's landlord's application for a selective licence. There was fault in the conduct of the housing enforcement investigation but that did not cause the injustice claimed by Ms X. There was no fault in the Council's consideration of the selective licence application.

Leeds City Council (20 006 248)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 14-Apr-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to respond appropriately to her concerns about noise from a neighbour's drainpipe. The Council was not at fault.

Allerdale Borough Council (19 017 356)

Statement Upheld Private housing 15-Mar-2021

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to pursue his landlord regarding urgent repairs needed at his home. He also complained the Council failed to keep a record of his first complaint and responded to his second complaint incorrectly. He said the Council did not respond to his requests to escalate his complaints about the Council's complaint handling. He said this situation caused him stress and negatively affected his physical health. The Council was at fault when it failed to escalate Mr X's complaint at his request and delayed tracing Mr X's landlord. The Council has agreed to make a payment of £100 to Mr X to recognise the frustration he experienced because of this.

Cheshire East Council (20 003 819)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 05-Mar-2021

Summary: Miss B complained the Council did not take enforcement action against her landlord. Miss B said her landlord did not fix her boiler and she and her family were left without adequate heating and hot water. We did not find fault with the Council.

Brentwood Borough Council (20 002 688)

Statement Upheld Private housing 23-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X is a landlord who complained that the Council failed to consider statutory guidance when it advised his tenants to remain in his property after the Court made a Possession Order. He says this led to further loss of rental income, additional Court costs and time and trouble. We found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Mr X. The Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy.

London Borough of Bexley (20 005 627)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 15-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council has dealt with his complaint about damp at his privately rented property. The Ombudsman has not found fault by the Council.

Birmingham City Council (19 019 527)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 12-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's response to his reports of disrepair in the home he rents from a private landlord. The Ombudsman found the Council was entitled to reach its decision and was not at fault.

Transport for London (20 006 271)

Statement Not upheld Private housing 07-Jan-2021

Summary: The Authority, which was Mr X's landlord, was not at fault for delaying energy efficiency improvements to his property. Although this meant it did not meet the regulatory minimum efficiency standard when it came into force in April 2020, the delay was in line with government coronavirus guidance.