Summary: Miss B complained that the Council failed to take prompt or effective action to ensure disrepair in her privately rented property was resolved. We have not found fault with the actions of the Council and consider some of the events are too old to consider now.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that Nottingham City Council (the Council) failed to take prompt or effective action to ensure the disrepair in her privately rented property was resolved. It also treated her unfairly in comparison to the landlord. Miss B said she had to live in unsuitable conditions for longer than she should have done with all the distress and inconvenience that entails.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
4. 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

5. I have not investigated events prior to November 2021 (the date we made a decision on Miss B’s previous complaint to us).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Miss B 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

7. 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 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. If a council considers a category 1 hazard exists in residential premises, they must take appropriate enforcement action in accordance with section 5 of the Act. Councils have discretion to take enforcement action if a category 2 hazard is identified.

What happened

8. Miss B is a private tenant. She made a previous complaint to us about problems with her landlord resolving disrepair in the property from 2019 until June 2021. In November 2021, we found the Council delayed in taking formal action against the landlord. The Council agreed to make a symbolic payment to Miss B and improve its procedures for the future.
9. In January 2022 Miss B complained to the Council that the boiler was again not working. The Council chased up the landlord regarding outstanding repairs from a previous improvement notice. They confirmed a new window had been installed but had not been able to replace a radiator due to problems with access.
10. During February 2022 the landlord tried to ensure a gas safety check took place through a third party contractor, but this was unsuccessful. Miss B said the boiler was still not working. In March 2022 the Council visited again and agreed to carry out the remaining works (replacing the radiator and electrical checks) itself due to the breakdown in relationship between Miss B and the landlord.
11. The Council’s contractor originally booked in the work for May 2022 but due to illness this was cancelled and rearranged for July 2022. On 20 July 2022 the Council revoked the statutory notices as it was satisfied the work had been done: the category 1 hazard had been removed and the category 2 hazard had been reduced to an acceptable level. The Council issued a Hazard Awareness Notice on this one remaining category 2 hazard (a second security light). This was for advisory purposes only and the Council did not intend to follow it up. In August 2022 the Council provided Miss B with evidence it was satisfied the works had been done.
12. In December 2022 the Council responded to a complaint from Miss B which primarily concerned events from 2020/21 which we had investigated previously. It was satisfied that all significant works in the Improvement Notices had been done. It said the notices did not match everything detailed in the schedules of work as these contained the more minor items.
13. In July 2023 Miss B made a new complaint about damp and mould in the bedroom, along with rats in the garden shed and asbestos in the shed.
14. The Council inspected the house in August 2023. It identified one category 1 hazard (electrical) and seven category 2 hazards. The Council contacted the landlord and stressed the importance of resolving the electrical issue as it was dangerous. The landlord repaired the problem by mid-September 2023 and the Council issued a Hazard Awareness Notice for the remaining category two hazards. It has confirmed there are no outstanding issues or interventions regarding the property.

Analysis

2021/2022

15. The Council completed its involvement in the case in July 2022, revoking the statutory notices and issuing a Hazard Awareness Notice for the second security light on an observational basis only. Miss B did not complain to us about these events until October 2023, 15 months later. Miss B was aware of our service having approached us previously and I consider it was reasonable for her to have complained to us at an earlier point about these issues.
16. The complaint she made to the Council in 2022 and to which the Council responded in December 2022, related to the events we considered in the previous complaint up to June 2021 and subsequent events up to December 2021. We have already considered the events up to June 2021 and I consider it was reasonable for Miss B to have complained to us before October 2023 if she remained dissatisfied.

2023

17. Following Miss B’s new complaint in July 2023 I consider the Council took prompt and appropriate action: it inspected the property within a month, liaised with the landlord to ensure urgent electrical work was done and issued a Hazard Awareness Notice for the remaining Category 2 hazards. I have not identified fault.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation into this complaint as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Miss B.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman