Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to the complainant’s request for help regarding a private tenant. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council will not help him regarding a former tenant who owes money to Mr X; Mr X was his landlord.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and a copy of the tenancy agreement. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr X rented a property to a tenant (Mr A). Mr X says the Council introduced Mr A to Mr X. The Council has no record of introducing Mr A to Mr X.
5. Mr X evicted Mr A for rent arrears. Mr X says Mr A owes him money for rent, legal costs and damage caused to the property. Mr X wants the Council to help him get the money from Mr A. Mr X also wants a reduction on the council tax because Mr A damaged the property.
6. The Council said Mr A was a private tenant with no links to the Council. It explained it was Mr X’s responsibility to manage the tenancy and said it cannot help with the recovery of any money or to locate Mr A. The Council said it could not provide information about Mr A due to data protection rules. The Council signposted Mr X to information about council tax discounts for empty properties.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has no record of introducing Mr A to Mr X and Mr X has not provided any evidence the Council agreed to cover the costs of any damage or rent arrears. The Council explained it was Mr X’s responsibility to manage the tenancy, including court processes; I have not seen any evidence the Council has any responsibility to reimburse Mr X for any losses or to help Mr X seek recovery from Mr A.
8. The Council correctly explained it cannot disclose any information about Mr A because that would breach data protection rules. In addition, the council tax rules do not allow councils to reduce a landlord’s council tax if a tenant causes damage; some landlords take out insurance to cover this and other losses.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman