Summary: Miss X complains the Council failed to properly respond to her complaints about disrepair at a flat she rents. We found there were some communication issues and delays in responding to her. We found no fault in how the Council reached decisions about what action it should take. We recommended a written apology for the issues we identified.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council failed to properly address complaints of disrepair she made from October 2020 and it failed to take any action against her Landlord to resolve matters. She also complains the Council failed to respond to her correspondence at various times.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. When considering complaints we must also decide 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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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What I have and have not investigated

4. We are not investigating matters back to October 2020. This is because we expect issues to be brought to us within 12 months of someone being aware of them. We have exercised discretion to investigate the complaint from the beginning of 2021.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Miss X and considered the information she provided. I asked the Council for information and considered its response to the complaint.
6. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

7. Private tenants can complain to their council about a failure by their landlord to keep a property in good repair. Local authorities have powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System 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.
8. Councils score issues that they find during inspections to assess the risk associated with them. The scores help determine how significant an issue is to the safety of the occupant. Broadly, if the score indicates a high risk of harm, it would be considered a Category One hazard. Lower risk issues would be considered Category Two hazards.
9. If a council considers a Category One hazard exists in residential premises they must take appropriate enforcement action.  Councils are not obliged to take enforcement action if a Category Two hazard is identified. They have discretion to do so if appropriate.

COVID-19 Restrictions/Council Policy on Visits

10. Council Guidance to officers in July 2020 stated housing officers could use their discretion to decide if a housing inspection visit was necessary given the COVID‑19 pandemic. It suggested other options may be requesting photographic or video evidence. It stated Inspections should only be made after a risk assessment, officers did not have to undertake inspections at that time, and any officers who were shielding as a result of COVID-19 must not carry out inspections.
11. The guidance was updated in April 2021 and December 2021 to reflect changes in the COVID-19 government guidance. However, the principle remained that officers should carry out risk assessments and carrying out visits was not obligatory.

Background

12. In 2020 Miss X contacted the Council to raise concerns about the condition of her rented property. The issues included dampness and mould and poor ventilation which was affecting light fittings in a shower room, gas safety certification and a leak on the boiler.
13. The Council had contacts with Miss X and her landlord during 2020. During 2020 Miss X’s gas meter was removed, and a new one fitted sometime later.
14. It was established on 29 December 2020 that the boiler was working following repairs by a gas company.
15. From 2020 the Council stopped making inspection visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miss X’s complaint

16. What follows is a summary of some of the key events to help explain our decision on this complaint. It is not intended to be a full summary of everything that happened.
17. In February 2021 Miss X contacted the Council about outstanding issues.
18. On 1 March 2021 a council officer emailed Miss X’s landlord urging them to take action. The request included the issues of damp and how it affected electrical safety.
19. On 6 March an electrician visited the property. They fitted a new extractor and new lights in the shower room. Miss X stated that an entry light was also not working. The electrician was unable to address this at the time.
20. On 1 June 2021 the Council resumed making inspection visits. The Council noted all officers had a significant backlog of inspections.
21. In August Miss X reiterated to the Council there were issues at her property. These included the entry light, which was not working, the lock on her front door and an issue with metering of electricity. The officer dealing with Miss X’s case was not at work due to illness for the majority of August. Miss X chased the Council in September. At that point, the officer suggested dates to carry out inspections which Miss X could not make. Miss X considered there was too little flexibility to arrange a visit.
22. In October Miss X stated she would get back to the Council with her availability for a visit. The Council says it did not receive anything from Miss X until she made a complaint in May 2022. In the meantime a gas safety check was done and a carbon monoxide meter was provided. Miss X was in contact with the Landlord about various issues.
23. In June Miss X’s landlord arranged for the entry light to be repaired, a leak was fixed and various other repair issues were resolved. Miss X noted some of the walls were sanded and repainted.
24. In June Miss X explained an issue she was having with electricity metering. Miss X explained that the property she rented was divided into flats. She had one of the flats. However, there was one shared electricity meter covering multiple flats. She said this had been the case for years. She was concerned there was no way of establishing who used what and what her bill should be. She asked if the Council could act on this and if not, who else she should contact. The officer agreed to contact the landlord to see what could be done.
25. Miss X chased the Council for an update three times during August and September 2022.
26. In September the officer told Miss X what the landlord had said. The officer stated a resolution was likely to take some time. I understand Miss X was concerned that the electricity supplier may remove the meter or cut off the supply altogether because of the issue. Miss X provided some evidence there were considerable outstanding balances on utility bills for the property.
27. In November 2022 the Council explained that because the outstanding issue was metering and electricity supply, its repairs team would not be able to assist with it. It told Miss X to discuss this with the landlord and energy supplier.
28. I understand Miss X had tried to discuss the matter with the energy supplier, but because the account was in her landlord’s name, not her own name, it was proving difficult.
29. In February 2023 the Council reiterated to Miss X that the issue of energy metering was not something the council could address. It explained this was because it was not a safety issue. The Council suggested it was highly unlikely the utility company would remove a meter and leave a property without an energy supply.
30. Following a complaint via councillor, the repairs team arranged an inspection of Miss X’s property. This took place in March 2023. The Council found that there were Category Two hazards at the property. This related to some mould and damp and ventilation issues. The officer did not consider this required formal action.
31. The Council stated the landlord carried out a damp assessment and a boiler repair in May 2023. In June 2023 the Council told the landlord to carry out an electrical safety check. This took some time to achieve, and there was a dispute between the landlord and Miss X about access for this.
32. In correspondence with Miss X in June 2023 the case officer told her that no Category One hazards were found at the March 2023 inspection, so no notice had been issued. The officer stated they had played a mediatory role to try and get issues resolved. They noted some issues had been addressed. A damp assessment report was being arranged and a gas safety check was arranged promptly by the landlord.
33. Between August and November 2023, the Council received information from the landlord regarding the damp at the property which may need specialist treatment. An Inspection was arranged in late November 2023. At the inspection the council found there was damp at the property but not at a level that was deemed urgent. No Category One hazards were identified at the visit.

Miss X’s complaint

34. On 8 June Miss X complained to the Council. She stated she had been making reports about her landlord since 2020 and the private sector housing team did not seem to be addressing her concerns. She stated they repeatedly did not respond to her contacts.
35. In response to Miss X’s complaint the Council acknowledged that the problems Miss X had with her electricity meter were frustrating. However, it reiterated that this was not an issue the Council could resolve. The Council stated the case officer had gone beyond what was required in terms of safety and acted in a mediatory role to try and achieve a solution.
36. The Council stated the damp at Miss X’s property was identified in March 2023 but it was not deemed to be a Category One hazard. The Council stated it had sought a copy of a recent damp report and would review this. The Council explained other action it had taken to obtain gas and electrical safety certificates.
37. The Council identified one occasion in June 2023 when an email was not sent to Miss X in response to her complaint. It partially upheld the complaint as a result. The Council found the case officer had acted swiftly and proportionately and that the officer had been copied into a great deal of contacts between Miss X and her landlord.
38. At the next stage of the council’s complaints process, the council reiterated its view on the main issues. In terms of communication, it noted that there were several delays in responding to correspondence, but an apology had been provided in the original response for this.

Was there fault by the Council

39. The Council’s role under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is to look at properties using a risk management approach. The HHSRS guidance does not provide minimum standards against which properties are assessed. Rather, it aims to identify potential hazards to avoid or minimise the impact.
40. When officers visit properties they are looking for risk of harm to the occupant and they will consider the likelihood of an issue causing harm and severity of any risk. The HHSRS process does not give councils the power to intervene in issues where there would not be risk of harm to the occupant of a property.
41. When Miss X was raising issues with the Council in 2021, measures it put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were still in force. While the Council’s revised policy did not generally ban visits, it is clear that they were discouraged unless they were necessary. The policy proposed alternative means to follow up reports, by obtaining photographic evidence and by use of correspondence.
42. Between the start of 2021 and June 2021 when visits resumed, there is evidence the officer dealing with Miss X’s case was in contact with her and her landlord and they were encouraging them to address key issues. Some of the key issues were resolved by the landlord as a result. I found there was no fault in the way this period was handled.
43. Miss X contacted the Council again in August 2021 after visits had resumed. There was some delay responding to her contacts at this point. I recognise the Council had a significant build of cases to respond to because of the COVID-19 restrictions and the case officer was away from work with illness. However, I found the delays in replying to Miss X represented service failure. When contact with Miss X resumed in October 2021 with a view to arranging an appointment for a visit, Miss X did not respond, so delay after this point was not the through the Council’s actions.
44. The officer followed up with the landlord about the lack of individual electric meters after Miss X raised it in August 2022. While the HHSRS system allows councils to inspect properties and consider risks, the issue of billing and metering would not be an issue the Council could act on under these powers. The Council could have made it clearer at the outset that this was not likely to be an issue the Council had powers to resolve.
45. I note the officer was acting positively to try and help Miss X to address the situation. However, there was a lack of communication and updates prompting Miss X to chase several times to find out what was happening. It was not until November 2022 that the officer told Miss X that the metering issue was not something the Council could assist with. The delays in responding represent fault and this likely added to Miss X’s frustration.
46. It is not clear why an inspection visit did not take place during 2022. However, I note that some issues were being resolved (most notably in June 2022). I note that when inspections took place in February 2023 and again in November 2023, no Category One hazards were found. So, there was no significant injustice as a result.
47. The Council found there was some damp that was being investigated by the landlord in 2023. It did not issue an improvement notice to Miss X’s landlord about this as it was not considered significant enough to harm Miss X. This was a decision the council was entitled to take.

Summary

48. Overall, I found there were some issues in communicating effectively with Miss X. The Council does not have a role to resolve a number of the issues Miss X raised. This could have been made clearer sooner. I note the Council apologised for one instance in which it did not send an email to Miss X in its response to her complaint. There were however, several delays responding to her correspondence. That said, action was taken to follow up on issues informally when she was raising them with the Council. As there were no Category One hazards, the Council was not obliged to issue an improvement notice. The Council was not obliged to issue a notice regarding any Category Two hazards that it found. I found no fault in how the Council decided what action to take.

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Recommended action

49. Within four weeks of my final decision:
50. The Council should send Miss X a written apology for the delays in responding to her and the communication issue we identified. The apology should adhere to our guidance on making effective apologies. This can be found on our website, within our Guidance on Remedy here.
51. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

52. There was service failure and fault by the Council. I have now completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman