Summary: Mr C complains the Council failed to properly investigate and take timely action in response to his sister’s reports of disrepair in their privately rented property. Mr C says they lived in unacceptable conditions for longer than necessary and his sister suffered a harmful impact on her mental health. We have found no fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr C, complains the Council failed to properly investigate and take timely action in response to his sister’s reports of disrepair in their privately rented property.
2. Mr C says because of the Council's fault, they lived in unacceptable conditions for longer than necessary and his sister suffered a harmful impact on her mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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 read the papers provided by Mr C and discussed the complaint with him and spoke to his sister Miss C. I have considered some information from the Council and provided a copy of this to Mr C with third party details removed.
7. I have explained my draft decision to Mr C and the Council and considered the comments received before reaching my final decision.

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What I found

Background and legislation

8. Private tenants may complain to their council about a failure by the landlord to keep the property in good repair. Local authorities 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.

Key events

9. The Council’s policy for dealing with disrepair reports provides four main categories:

• serious disrepair requiring immediate action for inspection
• serious disrepair but able to be dealt with using a 7 day letter to the landlord – the example of no heating in a property is given
• unsatisfactory disrepair that can be dealt with by sending a 21 day letter to the landlord – the example of a leaking tap is given
• issues that require advice or referral elsewhere

10. The Council also has a guide to dealing with common disrepair reports. This includes a checklist to be completed which includes checking the property has a handrail on the stairs and heating to all habitable rooms. There is also guidance about how to check if reports of damp and mould are likely caused by disrepair or tenant behaviour. This sets out that if there is no obvious disrepair and the property has heating and ventilation the Council would only ask the landlord to investigate the issue and clean off mould with an anti-fungal product within 21 days. The Council would also send a condensation leaflet and follow up on the case in 21 days. If inadequate heating or ventilation was considered to potentially be causing the situation the Council would send the landlord a 21 day letter to install adequate measures. The Council has confirmed that this process is only engaged once a tenant has made the landlord formally aware of any disrepair issues and provided an opportunity for the matter to be addressed within a reasonable time.
11. Miss C made a report about disrepair at her privately rented property to the Council using its online portal on 4 August 2021. Miss C highlighted the following issues of damp and mould, fire safety, floors, health and safety issues, security and windows.
12. Miss C’s report was passed to the Council’s duty officer. The Council says the officer spoke with Miss C by telephone and triaged the report as not being serious enough to require immediate escalation. It was noted Miss C had not reported the issues to the landlord and she was advised to do so. The Council has not provided a record of the telephone conversation. I would remind the Council of the importance of maintaining an adequate record of such contact in future.
13. The Council’s records do show that following this telephone contact, it sent Miss C a ‘Tenant Information Pack’ so she could follow the ‘two letter procedure’. The Council says this procedure involves the tenant sending a letter to the landlord notifying them of the disrepair and if this is not responded to by the landlord within 14 days a second letter is sent by the tenant. The Council says this is to provide the landlord fair notice of disrepair and a clear opportunity to respond in a reasonable time.
14. The Council says this process is followed when tenants contact it to help with disrepair but have not formally notified their landlord of the disrepair as in this case. The Council closed the case and noted advice had been given.
15. Miss C emailed the Council on 13 September with a heading Tenant Information Pack and asked for contact about her disrepair case. The Council telephoned Miss C the following day and confirmed it would write to her landlord and provide 21 days for a reply. The Council’s records from this contact referred solely to ‘damp and mould throughout the property’. The Council sent a 21 day notice letter to the landlord’s agent the same day. The letter advised the landlord of their legal duty to ensure the property was also free from the 29 hazard types listed in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) as described in Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004. This letter listed all 29 potential hazards including excess cold and falls on stairs in an attached information document and confirmed if the Council found such hazards it may take formal action. The Council also wrote to Miss C confirming this action with a copy of its letter.
16. The landlord’s agent contacted the Council on 21 September in response to its letter. The agent contacted Miss C on 27 September to say they were trying to arrange an appointment and were waiting for a call back to agree a day. The agent sent a follow up email on 30 September to Miss C to say it had left a message about arranging works and asking for contact as soon as possible.
17. Miss C provided a copy of a letter dated 30 September to the Council in early October. The letter provided details about Miss C’s mental health which she had been receiving treatment for from 2017. The doctor explained that recent events in her housing situation and with her landlord had exacerbated her symptoms. The doctor says Miss C had told him her property was in a poor state of disrepair as it had damp and mould which affected her breathing.
18. The agent contacted the Council on 1 October and noted it had been difficult to contact the tenant to arrange an appointment for their contractors.
19. The agent contacted the Council on 6 October to confirm there had been an inspection of the property and it had instructed a damp proofing company to complete works which were due to take place on 14 October.
20. Miss C complained to the Council on 7 October about its response to her report.
21. The Council received a copy of the invoice and certificate for the damp proofing works on 22 October. The Council wrote to Miss C on the same day following a telephone call when she would not confirm if the works had been completed. The Council explained if it did not receive any further contact within 7 days it would close the case.
22. Mr C emailed the Council on 27 October to say the works were in progress.
23. The agent emailed the Council on 29 October to say its contractor had tried to reinspect the property to close off the work order but had been denied access. The contractor had also raised concern as the tenant had been advised to leave windows open to allow the plaster to dry but they were all shut despite the tenant being at home.
24. Mr C emailed the Council the same day to say the Council had sent out contractors without notice. Mr C had also contacted the landlord’s agent to raise issues about access, defective windows and other unspecified disrepair. The Council provided information about condensation and advised Mr C to allow access to the property for any further works required. The Council contacted the landlord’s agent about the new issue about the windows and was informed these did not require any repair. The Council raised a case for the property to be inspected as the further issue about windows was disputed by the landlord.
25. The Council responded to Miss C’s formal complaint on 2 November.
26. The Council emailed Miss C on 24 November to arrange an appointment to inspect the property. This took place on 3 December. The Council’s inspection found the following Category 1 hazards at the property:

• excess cold in the kitchen as no heater (Category 1A)
• risk of falls to children as low bedroom window without restrictors (Category 1 C+)
• trip hazard from ripped flooring in kitchen and rear lobby (Category 1A)
• fall hazard from no and inadequate staircase handrail and lighting issues (Category 1A)
• electrical hazard from cracked socket in kitchen (Category 1B)
• dangerous kettle location due to inadequate electric sockets in kitchen (Category 1B)

27. The Council also found minor condensation in the property but assessed this was caused by tenant behaviour rather than any building disrepair. The Council provided condensation management advice.
28. The Council wrote to Miss C’s landlord on 15 December to notify them of the outcome and the intention to serve an Improvement Notice. The Council provided 14 days for any representations.
29. The Council wrote to Miss C on 16 December to provide an update on the above and that it had arranged to meet the landlord at the property. The Council also confirmed it had sought copies of the gas, EPC and periodic electrical inspection reports from the landlord.
30. The Council sent a reminder to the landlord on 20 January 2022. The landlord’s agent emailed both Mr C and Miss C on 24 January to say they had left messages and sent a text about arranging access without a reply. Mr C responded to say the matter was in the hands of his legal team. The Council contacted Mr C on 25 January to advise he needed to allow access.
31. The Council served an Improvement Notice on 3 February which provided 21 days to appeal with works to start by 7 March.
32. The Council visited the property on 10 February and found new disrepair and noted most remedial work had been completed. The Council raised the new disrepair issue with the landlord.
33. The Council met the landlord at the property on 18 February. The Council advised Miss C that works should be completed by 22 April and it would reinspect on 25 April.
34. Mr C and Miss C say they left the property in March.
35. The Council provided a response at the second stage of its complaints procedure on 11 April.
36. The Council wrote to the agent on 28 April following a final inspection to confirm the works were complete and the case was closed.

My consideration

37. Based on the information provided, I am satisfied the Council properly responded to Miss C’s initial report of disrepair. The Council telephoned Miss C and as she had not provided formal notice of the disrepair to her landlord it sent her a Tenant Information Pack and followed its ‘two letter’ procedure as set out above.
38. When Miss C returned to the Council to say the matter remained unresolved the Council wrote directly to the landlord’s agent in line with its policy. This letter to the landlord’s agent highlighted all the potential hazards that may require action. As a result, the landlord’s agent responded and arranged remedial works and provided evidence of these to the Council.
39. Once the Council was advised disrepair remained despite works arranged by the landlord it arranged an inspection of the property. Although the emphasis of Miss C’s report and subsequent complaint was around damp and mould in the property the inspection found this related to tenant behaviour rather than disrepair. The Council took formal action requiring remedial work by the landlord in relation to other disrepair it found at the inspection. Miss C and Mr C left the property before the works were completed.
40. I have found no evidence of unreasonable delay or other fault by the Council.

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Final decision

41. I have completed my investigation as I have found no fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman