Summary: Mr X complains that the Council failed to support him as a landlord when his tenant blocked access to his property. He says the Council could have contacted the tenant and told her Mr X had a legal right to access the property. The Ombudsman does not find the Council at fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr X, complains that the Council failed to support him as a landlord when his tenant blocked access to his property.
2. Mr X says the Council could have contacted the tenant and told her Mr X had a legal right to access to the property. He says the Council could also have told the tenant she could be subject to legal proceedings for possible eviction.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X and the Council. I spoke to Mr X about this complaint. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
5. I considered the relevant legislation, set out below.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

6. Council have powers under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 to investigate complaints of landlord harassment and illegal eviction of tenants, and to prosecute a landlord where they commit an offence.
7. Councils do not have any statutory duties to assist private landlords.

What happened

8. Mr X is a landlord and owns a property that has several flats within it. He privately rents these flats to tenants.
9. In June 2019, a new tenant was due to move into one of Mr X’s flats in the property. She was not able to do so because another tenant had changed the locks. Mr X contacted the Council asking for help.
10. Three days later, the Council emailed Mr X. It advised him to seek his own legal advice on gaining access to the property because it was unable to help him.
11. Mr X complained the Council.
12. In its complaint response, the Council said it enforced the Protection from Eviction Act which made it a criminal offence to unlawfully evict or harass a tenant. It said its focus was on protecting tenants’ rights.
13. The Council said it did not provide advice to landlords. It said it expected landlords to seek their own advice and assistance from legal advisors about disputes. It said it did not offer a service to resolve disputes between tenants and landlords.

Analysis

14. Mr X complains that the Council failed to support him as a landlord when his tenant blocked access to his property.
15. There is nothing in law that says councils should support landlords in this way. Councils have duties to tenants, but not to landlords. For this reason, I do not find fault with the Council.
16. Mr X says the Council could have contacted the tenant and told her Mr X had a legal right to access to the property. He says the Council could also have told the tenant she could be subject to legal proceedings for possible eviction.
17. I do not find that the Council had any legal duty to do this. As a private landlord, Mr X is responsible for taking eviction proceedings if he wishes. This is not something the Council can or should assist with.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation and I do not uphold this complaint. This is because there is no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman