Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council responded after he reported disrepair in his home which he rents from a private landlord. He also complained about poor complaints handling. The Council was not at fault with how it responded to the report of disrepair in Mr X’s home. The Council was at fault with its delayed response to Mr X’s stage 1 and stage 2 complaints. The Council has already apologised for the stage 1 delay which remedied the injustice caused. The stage 2 delay did not cause Mr X a significant injustice and no recommendation was needed.

The complaint

1. Mr X, complained about the way the Council responded after he reported disrepair in his home, which he rents from a private landlord, in late August 2023. He also complained about poor complaints handling. Mr X said this caused him distress and physical health impacts on him and his family.

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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. 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 investigated

3. This investigation started with events from late August 2023 when Mr X made a new service request to the Council and ended when the Council issued a stage 2 response in mid-March 2024.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read Mr X’s complaint and supporting documents and spoke to him on the telephone.
5. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint, the supporting documents and its response to my enquiries.
6. I considered the Council’s policies, and relevant law and guidance as set out below. I considered our guidance on remedies.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Disrepair

8. Private tenants may complain to their council about a failure by the landlord to keep the property in good repair.
9. 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.
10. 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.

Council enforcement policy

11. The Council has an enforcement policy called ‘enforcing standards in private sector housing’. It says all enforcement action would be proportional to the risk and be in accordance with statutory code of practice and government advice. It says the Council would work with responsible landlords to help them reduce issues and raise housing standards but where necessary would start appropriate enforcement action against landlords that fail to comply with their legal requirements.

Complaints process

12. The Council has a two stage complaints process, as follows:
• stage 1 - the relevant service area would respond to complaints within 10 working days in writing. Where that was not possible the complainant would be sent an estimate of the likely timescale for response; and
• stage 2 – a senior manager or senior officer would review the complaint and respond to the complainant within 20 working days in writing. Where that was not possible the complainant would be sent an estimate of the likely timescale for a response.

What happened

13. Mr X lives in a rented property owned by a private landlord.
14. In mid-December 2022 the Council issued Mr X’s landlord an Improvement Notice. It said several radiators were not working in Mr X’s home which was a category 1 hazard. It said the landlord needed to ‘carry out all necessary repair works to reinstate the heating’. When the Improvement Notice was not completed by the landlord by the deadline the Council assessed the works needed and said it would coordinate and carry out the works set out in the Improvement Notice on behalf of the landlord.
15. In late August 2023 Mr X raised a new housing service request with the Council. He said a gas safety certificate had expired and he had a faulty boiler. He said he raised this with his landlord in mid-July 2023 but the landlord had not responded to his concerns.
16. The next day an Environmental Health Officer, Officer 1 received Mr X’s service request. Officer 1 was finalising work for contractors to carry out the December 2022 Improvement Notice works on behalf of the landlord which included repairs to several radiators which were not working. Council records showed Mr X’s new service request was added to the Council’s ongoing service request worksheet.
17. In mid-Oct 2023 Officer 1 agreed the schedule of works with Mr X by email. Officer 1 said it would bleed and check three radiators in Mr X’s home. Four days later work commenced by Council contractors on behalf of the landlord at the property. The radiators were checked and the Council said no fault with Mr X’s boiler was witnessed. The Council communicated with Mr X regularly but due to unexpected delays in the December 2022 Improvement Notice works being completed the works were rescheduled for November 2023.
18. In late October 2023 Mr X raised another service request. He said there was a fault with the boiler and no gas safety certificate.
19. In early November 2023 Council contractors commenced work again at Mr X’s home and no boiler fault was witnessed.
20. In late November 2023 Mr X made a formal complaint to the Council. He said he wanted an investigation into the Council’s failure to inspect his home, he had not received a reply to his complaints made and he was being treated unfairly.
21. In mid-December 2023 Officer 1 carried out a site visit and Council records noted Mr X’s boiler was working. Two days later Officer 1 revoked the December 2022 Improvement Notice.
22. The next day Mr X told the Council his boiler had stopped working and he had no hot water. The Council said a gas engineer attended Mr X’s property to carry out a gas safety check but Mr X refused them entry and the gas at Mr X’s property was capped (switched) off. Mr X told Officer 1 he had told his landlord ‘months ago’ about the smell of gas. The same day Officer 1 tried to contact Mr X’s landlord by email and telephone but did not receive a response and served a Section 76 Building Act Notice on Mr X’s landlord by email and the notice was hand delivered. The Notice said ‘the gas within the property had been capped off by the gas engineer, which left Mr X with no hot water or heating’ and ‘an engineer needed to investigate the fault with the boiler and reinstate the gas supply when safe to do so’. It gave Mr X’s landlord nine days to comply or the Council would complete the work on their behalf. On the same day the Building Act Notice was served Mr X’s landlord said it would address the issue in a timely manner but explained the difficulty in getting a gas engineer appointment over the Christmas period. Mr X said he could not contact a gas engineer or the Council over Christmas and he had a cold unpleasant festive period and his family felt unwell.
23. A week later, in late December 2023, a gas engineer attended Mr X’s home and said there was a faulty kitchen appliance which should be replaced but did not complete any work at the property.
24. In early January 2024 Mr X complained the Council had not issued his stage 1 complaint response. Five days later the Council emailed Mr X about his stage 1 response and apologised for the delay. The Council said this was due to the Christmas period and staff absence and would issue the response in mid-January 2024.
25. In early January 2024 Council Environmental Health Officers undertook two site visits at Mr X’s home to check compliance with the Building Act Notice. There was a dispute between Mr X and his landlord over a kitchen appliance. The gas to Mr X’s home was reinstated and a gas safety check was also carried out which showed the heating and hot water was working, a new kitchen appliance was also fitted. The next day the Council emailed Mr X’s landlord and said the Building Act Notice from mid-December 2023 had been complied with and marked as complete on its system. The Council asked the landlord for a copy of the gas safety certificate and advised it also sent a copy to Mr X.
26. Six days later in mid-January 2024 Mr X told the Council he could smell gas and the boiler stalled but was working again. The Council gave Mr X advice about the smell of gas. Two days later Mr X reported to the Council his boiler was not working again. Two days later the Council served Mr X’s landlord a second Building Act Notice stating the gas boiler in the property that supplied hot water was not working and gave Mr X’s landlord nine days to comply to fix the problem. The Council communicated regularly with Mr X. The landlord contacted the gas engineer and a gas engineer attended the property. Mr X said the gas was working again and his landlord confirmed this in an email to the Council. The Council confirmed the landlord had complied with the second Building Act Notice from mid-January 2024.
27. In mid-January 2024 the Council issued Mr X’s stage 1 response and said it did not uphold Mr X’s complaint. It explained the action it had taken and confirmed it had carried out its duties in accordance with its enforcement policy and in line with its statutory duties under the Housing Act 2004.
28. In early February 2024 Mr X contacted the Council and said he was unhappy with the Council’s stage 1 response. He escalated his complaint to stage 2 and said:
• his complaint was not properly addressed and included information not relating to the complaint;
• his complaint was not responded to within the Council complaint timescales; and
• he had suffered significant harm due to the council repeated inaction regarding his landlord.
29. A day later Mr X told the Council his boiler was not working and he could smell gas and the gas engineer had capped the gas off again at the property. Three days later the Council served Mr X’s landlord with a third Building Act Notice which said the gas boiler at the property that supplied hot water was not working and gave nine days to comply to fix the problem. A week later an engineer fixed the fault and Mr X confirmed the boiler was working and the Council confirmed Mr X’s landlord had complied with the third Building Act Notice served in early February 2024.
30. In mid-March 2024 the Council issued Mr X’s stage 2 response. The stage 2 response gave a detailed chronology of Council actions from 2022 to early 2024 and concluded the Council had acted in accordance with its enforcement policy to resolve Mr X’s boiler issues. It also concluded the stage 1 response was comprehensive and responded to the matters Mr X raised. It accepted there was a delay in responding to his stage 1 complaint, but the Council had already apologised, explained the reason for the delay and provided a date he would receive a full response.
31. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to us.

My findings

Disrepair

32. It was the responsibility of Mr X’s landlord to address disrepair. It was the Council’s responsibility to assess the issues Mr X reported and take enforcement action if a category 1 hazard was identified.
33. Mr X reported a faulty boiler and no gas safe certificate to the Council in late August 2023. The Council assessed the report and added this issue onto its ongoing work sheet alongside the Improvement Notice works from mid-December 2022. In mid-October 2023 a Council contractor checked and bled three radiators and witnessed the boiler at Mr X’s home was working. It inspected again in early November and in mid-December 2023 and noted the boiler was working in Mr X’s home. The Council took enforcement action and served three Building Act Notices on Mr X’s landlord between late-December 2023 and mid-February 2024. It undertook two site visits in early January 2024 to ensure compliance with the Building Act Notice and to ensure the gas engineer carried out the work to fix the boiler and gas supply. It also checked the works to the boiler were completed and confirmed the Building Act Notices had been complied with. The Council also advised Mr X’s landlord to send Mr X the gas safety certificate.
34. The Council took prompt enforcement action to improve the condition of Mr X’s home, took action to ensure the repairs were completed and communicated with Mr X regularly. The Council acted appropriately and was not at fault.

Council complaint handling

35. The Council’s stage 1 complaint response was 10 working days’ late which caused Mr X frustration. However, this did include the Christmas period and the Council gave Mr X a new date for the response. It has already apologised which remedied the injustice caused to Mr X.
36. The Council’s stage 2 response was nine working days’ late, which was further fault. However, this did not cause a significant injustice to Mr X so no recommendation was needed. Although Mr X was unhappy with the responses, I am satisfied the Council responded appropriately at both stages.

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Final decision

37. I have completed my investigation finding no fault with how the Council responded to Mr X’s disrepair complaint. The Council was at fault with the delayed stage 1 and stage 2 responses but apologised for the stage 1 delay which remedied the injustice caused and the stage 2 response delay did not cause Mr X a significant injustice so no recommendation was needed.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman