Summary: Miss B complained the Council delayed investigating disrepair to her private rented property, failed to identify hazards and did not take enforcement action against her landlord. Miss B says her family suffered injury because of the disrepair. I have stopped investigating this complaint because Miss B is pursuing the matter through the Courts. Miss B can return to the Ombudsman once the Court case has concluded.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained the Council delayed investigating disrepair to her private rented property, failed to identify hazards and did not take enforcement action against her landlord. Miss B says her family suffered injury because of the disrepair. She also says she and her family experienced disruption and inconvenience.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are not investigating the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• Miss B’s complaint and the information she provided; and
• documents supplied by the Council.
5. Miss B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft decision. I considered any comments before making my final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

6. Under the Defective Premises Act 1972, a landlord has a duty to repair or maintain a property and owes a duty of care to their tenants. Where it can be proven a landlord had knowledge of a disrepair and failed to complete the works within a reasonable time, tenant can take the matter to court and seek damages.

What happened

7. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
8. In February 2019, Miss B told the Council her private landlord had not carried out repairs to her rented property. She said her boiler was not working, the downstairs bathroom was flooding and there was a cracked tile in the entrance to the garden. The Council inspected her property, it did not find evidence of disrepair.
9. In October 2019, Miss B told the Council there was still disrepair to her property. The Council carried out another inspection. It found a broken tile in the kitchen and the shower drained slowly. It decided the property would benefit from installing an interlinked fire detection system. A plumber attended the property to fix the shower.
10. The Council told Miss B the property was free of substantial disrepair and category 1 hazards. It said it was satisfied no further action was required.
11. Miss B told the Council she had started court proceedings against her landlord for disrepair.

Analysis

12. My provisional findings are:
13. Simon Brown LJ held in R v Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte H [1999] ELR 314, “At the heart of the legislation is Parliament’s evident wish that the ombudsman should investigate complaints of maladministration only if no more suitable means of investigation, for example by way of court proceedings, exist.”
14. In 2019, Miss B took her landlord to court because of disrepair to her property. The outcome of the court case may impact my investigation. Therefore, I have stopped investigating this complaint while Miss B is pursuing the matter through the Courts. Miss B can return to the Ombudsman once the court case has concluded.
15. As I am not investigating the substantive matter, I will not consider the Council’s complaint response.

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Final decision

16. I have stopped investigating this complaint because Miss B is pursuing this matter through the Courts. Miss B can return to the Ombudsman once the Court case has concluded.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman