Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to take prompt action against her landlord for disrepair. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council’s failure to respond quickly to her complaints about disrepair in her private-rented flat. She says the Council has not included all the faults which she mentioned in its Improvement Notice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mrs X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response and Mrs X has been given the opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mrs X made complaints to the Council about her rented property in 2017. The Council served an enforcement notice which the landlord complied with. In 2018, she made further complaints about different matters. The Council inspected the property in 2018 and told the landlord what works were required.
5. In early 2019 Mrs X’s solicitor raised further disrepair matters with the Council and it inspected again. It served an Improvement Notice on the landlord in March 2019. The landlord has until July 2019 to comply with the Notice. Mrs X brought other matters to the Council’s attention which it did not include in the Notice. It told her this is because they are not requirements under the Housing Act 2004 and so it could not take enforcement action.
6. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
7. The Council has responded to Mrs X’s complaints within a reasonable time and it is required by the legislation to allow the landlord specific timescales to carry out the required works.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman