Manchester City Council (23 006 062)
Category : Housing > Private housing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to reports of damp. That is because the complaint is late.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council failed to respond to emails he sent it at the start of 2022 showing damp in his property. He said he has underlying health conditions and is concerned about the impact of damp on these. Mr X wants the Council to apologise and provide compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to respond to his emails about damp in his property. Mr X contacted the Council at the start of 2022. He brought his complaint to the Ombudsman in July 2023. Therefore, this is a late complaint and we will not investigate. It was reasonable for Mr X to contact us sooner if he was unhappy the Council had not responded to him.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman