Summary: Mrs D says the Council wrongly told her tenants to remain at her property and failed to rehouse them in 2020. The Ombudsman has found no evidence of fault by the Council. He has completed the investigation and not upheld the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant (whom I refer to as Mrs D) says the Council misadvised her tenants to remain at her rental property in 2020. She also states the Council failed to rehouse the tenants.
2. In addition, Mrs D refer to allegations of harassment by the Council and wants an Officer dismissed. She refers to drug use, breaches of contract and child protection issues.

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What I have investigated

3. I have looked at how the Council handled issues about the potential eviction of the tenants. I explain below why I have not considered the other parts of the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. 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:

• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (such as the Police).

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

6. 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

7. I have considered the information provided by Mrs D. I also asked the Council questions and examined its response and case records.
8. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

What happened

9. Two members of the same family moved into a room rented out by Mrs D in 2020. At some point that year additional family members moved into the room. In October Mrs D contacted the tenants. She first offered temporary accommodation whilst repairs were carried out. She then said they should have moved out in June when the tenancy expired. She asked them to leave by 25 October or they would be evicted. On 25 October the tenants called the Council. They had not been given a Notice Seeking Possession (Notice). The Council contacted Mrs D the same day and spoke to Mr D who refused to discuss matters. The Council then told the tenants to remain at the property and speak to a Housing Officer. Mrs D told the Council she wanted to complain about an Officer and would go to the Ombudsman. On 27 October the Council referred the case to its Private Sector Housing Team to see if there was risk of an illegal eviction. On the same day, the Council advised Mr D that if his son intended to move into the property (which had been mooted previously) it would need to be a licensed House of Multiple Occupation (HMO). A large number of emails were sent by Mrs D to the Council stating the tenants were actually squatters and had been paying the rent illegally into her account. The property was unsafe and needed repairs. The Council offered to carry out a safety inspection, gave information on the eviction process and HMOs. Mr and Mrs D told the Council they did want its involvement. By the end of October, a Notice had been issued to the tenants. At that point the Council started to consider whether the tenants were eligible for housing assistance including whether they faced homelessness. Correspondence continued to be exchanged. In December Mrs D advised the Council she would take it to court.
10. In January 2021 Mrs D contacted the Council about children at the property and child protection issues. I am not detailing this because it is not part of my investigation. On 6 January, the Council advised Mrs D it was investigating harassment of the tenants. In March the Council invited Mr and Mrs D for a formal interview which they declined. On 3 March the Council secured alternative accommodation for the tenants who vacated Mrs D’s property.

What should have happened

11. Private housing tenants can contact the Council for assistance if they believe they are facing an illegal eviction or likely to become homeless. The Council will advise a tenant about the legal process for eviction (which requires a Notice to be issued) and they can remain at a property if the legal process has not been followed. The Council will also contact the landlord to ascertain what stage the eviction is at. If the correct process has not been followed a tenant cannot just be removed (Protection from Eviction Act 1977). There is no duty on the Council to immediately rehouse a tenant who has not been subject to a valid eviction process. Only once a correct Notice is issued will the Council usually start to assess if the applicant is eligible for housing assistance and make enquiries to establish if they are threatened with homelessness. If the Council is satisfied the criteria for housing assistance are met it will accept the applicant as homeless and seek to find them alternative accommodation.
12. Where a landlord states people are squatters, the Council should advise about the court process.
13. The Private Sector Housing Team will investigate a case where there is a risk of illegal eviction. It will contact the landlord and tenants to gather information and aim to resolve informally where possible.

Was there fault by the Council

14. Mrs D says the Council wrongly advised the tenants and failed to rehouse them in 2020. There is no evidence of fault by the Council. I am satisfied the Council acted in line with its policies and procedures taking account of relevant legislation. The Council has no duty to rehouse someone where the eviction process has not been complied with. It will give advice to the landlord and tenant about their options, and it did so in this case. The Council provided the correct information to both parties. Once a valid Notice was issued, the Council started to investigate whether it owed a housing duty to the tenants. When a duty was established in 2021 it secured them alternative accommodation.

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Final decision

15. I have completed the investigation and not upheld the complaint.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

16. I advised Mrs D at the outset of the investigation there were parts of her case I would not investigate further.
17. Matters concerning drug use are for the Police not the Ombudsman.
18. Breaches of contract can be pursued with the Courts.
19. We will not investigate a complaint where the redress sought is not possible. In this instance Mrs D wants an Officer dismissed. The Ombudsman cannot advise the Council on personnel matters and so that outcome is not achievable.
20. Child protection issues did not cause a personal injustice to Mrs D. I am not considering any contact between her and the Council involving Social Services.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman