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.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not chase his landlord regarding several urgent repairs he needed to live safely at home.
2. Mr X said the Council failed to keep a record of the first complaint and did not respond to his requests to escalate his complaint about the Council’s complaint handling.
3. Mr X said this situation has caused him stress and negatively affected his physical health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I called Mr X and discussed his view of the complaint.
7. I made enquiries of the Council and considered the information it provided. This included Mr X’s complaint form and the correspondence shared between the Council and Mr X.
8. I wrote to Mr X and the Council with my draft decision and gave them both the opportunity to comment before I wrote the final decision.

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What I found

Law

9. Councils have powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (introduced by the Housing Act 2004, Part 1) to take enforcement action against private landlords where the council has identified a hazard which puts the health and safety of the tenant at risk.
10. After a review of housing conditions or following a complaint, the council may decide to inspect the premises and determine whether a category 1 or 2 hazard exists. If a hazard is a serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety, this is known as a category 1 hazard. If a hazard is less serious or less urgent, this is known as a category 2 hazard.
11. Where the council identifies a category 1 hazard it must take action. This may include serving an improvement notice setting out the action the landlord must take to stop the hazard.
12. Councils have a general duty to take appropriate action in relation to a category 2 hazard. These actions could include:
• serving a hazard awareness order, which advises the person on who it is served that a category 2 hazard exists and the work needed to fix it.
• taking emergency remedial actions.
13. Section 8 of the Act places a duty on local authorities to give a statement of reasons for their decision to take a particular course of enforcement action.

Council complaint procedure

14. The Council’s department manager will investigate complaints at stage 1 and respond within 10 working days.
15. If the complainant remains unhappy, the complaint is escalated to stage 2 and dealt with by the Head of Service for the department they are making the complaint against. The Council should issue a response within 10 working days.

What happened

16. Mr X is disabled and has mental health issues. He moved into a privately rented flat in May 2019.
17. On 16 July 2019 Mr X contacted the Council to report his flat was in poor condition and he was concerned for his health. He listed several issues including:
• his ceiling was damaged
• he could not close his windows properly
• black mould was present throughout the property
• the bathroom extractor fan was not working
18. The Council sent Mr X a letter confirming it would carry out an inspection on 23 July 2019 in line with the Housing Act 2004. The Council also sent Mr X’s landlord a letter confirming the inspection after finding his address on the land registry.
19. During the visit the Council inspector identified the issues at the flat were a category 2 hazard. The Council served Mr X’s landlord with a statement of reasons and a hazard awareness notice, asking the landlord to address the issues.
20. On 31 July 2019, the Council’s letter was returned stating Mr X’s landlord no longer lived at the address. A Council inspector visited Mr X’s home and said attempts to contact his landlord had been unsuccessful.
21. In October 2019 Mr X chased the Council for an update. He says the Council employee he spoke with initially hung up on him because he wanted to record the conversation. Mr X called the Council again and says he was told he would receive a call back five minutes later.
22. Mr X did not receive a response and he called the Council again two weeks later. Mr X raised a complaint at this point as he was suffering health issues due to mould and damp which had developed in his home. Mr X says the Council employee he spoke with told him he should have received letters updating him on the situation and he would receive acknowledgment of his complaint from the person who had carried out the inspection within 10 days.
23. Mr X chased the Council again two weeks later and the Council employee he spoke with said there was no record of his complaint. Mr X made another complaint on 29 October 2019 and received a response from the Council inspector advising that the Council had tried to contact his landlord and failed to receive a response. The inspector said they had since located a different address for the landlord and asked the landlord to address the issues. The inspector also visited the landlord’s last known address but was informed the landlord no longer lived there. The inspector concluded the letter inviting Mr X to contact the Council with details of any additional repair issues.
24. Mr X contacted the Council on 20 November 2019 to report his boiler had stopped working and he had still not received any contact from his landlord.
25. On 27 November 2019, the Council visited Mr X’s home. Mr X said the inspector again told him the issues were urgent. The Council contacted Mr X’s gas provider on 3 December 2019 to discuss the situation as it had been unable to contact Mr X’s landlord.
26. Mr X asked to escalate his complaint on 9 December 2019 because he was unhappy the inspector who he had complained about had responded to the complaint he made in October 2019. Between 6 and 10 December 2019, the Council contacted Mr X to discuss how it could assist him with the boiler issues but did not respond to his request to escalate his complaint.
27. On 11 December 2019, the Council visited Mr X’s premises and uncapped his gas meter, which allowed him to use the boiler for heating and hot water.
28. Mr X raised a further complaint to the Council because he had not received a response to the complaint he made in December 2019. The Council wrote to Mr X on 3 February 2020 and explained the actions it had taken to contact his landlord and address the issues identified at his flat. The Council confirmed it did not take action between August and October 2019 and should have responded to the complaint he made in December 2019 within 10 working days. The Council apologised and advised it had changed its process and procedures to ensure it sourced the correct address for landlords, recognised when a complaint had been made and kept tenants informed of actions taken to address their complaints.
29. In April 2020, Mr X contacted the Council because he was unhappy the Council had still not found his landlord. Mr X said he was aware his landlord had left old and false addresses, but he did not accept that this should stop the Council holding him accountable for the issues in his flat.
30. In July 2020, after seeking legal advice and making internal enquiries, the Council found an email address for Mr X’s landlord and asked him to carry out the necessary repairs urgently. Within 24 hours the landlord explained that he no longer owned Mr X’s property.
31. The Council arranged another inspection of Mr X’s property on 18 August 2020 and sent a hazard awareness notice to the company responsible for Mr X’s home. The Council contacted Mr X to enquire whether the company had carried out the repairs on 10 October 2020, but Mr X confirmed they had not.
32. At the time of the investigation, the Council was still in contact with Mr X and the company responsible for his property to arrange the repairs. Mr X remains unhappy with the Council’s lack of progress.

Findings

33. The crux of Mr X’s complaint is his belief the Council did not do enough to contact his landlord with details of the repairs needed at his home. Based on the evidence seen, the Council made several attempts to contact Mr X’s landlord initially, including physically visiting the address listed for him on public record. However, the Council became aware the address details it held for Mr X’s landlord were incorrect in July 2019 but did not seek legal advice or make internal enquiries to locate the landlord’s updated details until June 2020. The Council has also confirmed it did not take action to address the situation between August and October 2019. This is fault. There is no evidence that if the Council had acted sooner that the repairs would have been fixed as to date his new landlord has yet to carry out the repairs. However, the Council’s action is likely to have caused Mr X frustration. The Council should make a financial award in light of this.
34. It is worth noting the Council categorised the issues found at Mr X’s home as category 2 hazards. This means the Council was only required to make Mr X’s landlord aware of the issues. The fault for not carrying out the repairs lies with the landlord.
35. Mr X complained the Council did not follow the correct process with its complaint handling. He also complained the Council allowed the inspector who carried out the visit to his property to respond to his complaint. I have not seen evidence of the first complaint Mr X made, and the Council does not hold record of it, therefore I cannot comment on this part of Mr X’s complaint. The Council’s complaint procedure states the complainant will receive a response from the department they have complained about, therefore the Council has followed this part of the complaints process correctly. There is no fault on the Council’s part.
36. Mr X is unhappy the Council failed to acknowledge his request to escalate his complaint to stage 2 in December 2019. The Council is required to deliver a written response within 10 working days from the date the complainant asks to escalate the complaint. The Council has conceded it did not formally respond to Mr X’s request. This is fault. The Council was in regular contact with Mr X at this time to address his boiler issue and so I cannot see that Mr X suffered a significant injustice because of this. The Council has since apologised and confirmed it made changes to its process to ensure it identifies complaint escalation requests and acts accordingly. These are satisfactory actions for the Council to take.

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Agreed actions

37. Within one month of the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to make a payment of £100 to Mr X in recognition of the frustration he experienced.

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Final decision

38. The Council was at fault in its complaint handling and delay in chasing Mr X’s landlord. I have recommended a financial award in light of this and the Council has agreed. I have completed the investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman