Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an alleged failure by the Council to take enforcement action against her landlord for poor housing conditions. This is because the Council inspected the complainant’s property and an appropriately qualified Council officer assessed conditions in accordance with the relevant legal framework. It determined no action was justified, and we cannot question the outcome of that decision as we are unlikely to find fault with how the Council approached and handled the complainant’s concerns.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Ms P) complains about a lack of action by the Council in respect of the condition of her housing which she rents from a private landlord. In particular, she says the Council failed to deal with concerns about water ingress in her property resulting in damp internal walls and mould.
2. In summary, Ms P says the alleged fault has meant her housing conditions went unresolved and that she received a retaliatory section 21 notice from her landlord to vacate. Ms P has since left the property subject to the alleged poor conditions, but wants the Council to be held accountable for its failings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way a council made its decision. If there was no fault in how the council made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Councils have powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This was introduced by the Housing Act 2004 (the Act) 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 one hazard exists in residential premises they must take appropriate enforcement action in accordance with s5 of the Act. Councils have discretion to take enforcement action if a category two hazard is identified.
7. In response to Ms P’s concerns, the Council arranged an inspection of her property to assess the conditions in accordance with the Act. A qualified EHO noted that the mould had been removed from the walls and the walls were dry. The Council determined the damp was likely the result of condensation and there was no evidence at the time of the visit that any mould that had been present in the property had been caused due to water ingress. The Council also recorded that it did not identify any defects which would constitute a category one or two hazard under HHSRS and therefore service of an Improvement Notice was not justified on this occasion. The Council did however advise Ms P that it would like to revisit the property when it was raining in order to undertake a wet weather assessment, which would assist officers further in their conclusions.
8. The Council says that it did not hear from Ms P in respect of arranging a further visit. It emailed her three months later to arrange another assessment, though did not receive a response. I recognise however that Ms P may have vacated the property by this time due to receiving a section 21 notice from her landlord. In any event, I cannot by law question a properly made decision of the Council. It inspected Ms P’s property and an appropriately qualified Council officer assessed conditions in accordance with the relevant legal framework. The Council concluded there were no hazards present which meant enforcement action was not justified. I am unlikely to find fault with the approach adopted by the Council.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council with respect to Ms P’s housing conditions. We cannot by law question the outcome of its assessment.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman