Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (24 009 814)

Category : Housing > Private housing

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 06 Nov 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council responded to a lack of heating in the complainant’s home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about the way the Council treated him regarding his request for help because his rented home does not have adequate heating. Mr X wants the Council to arrange for an independent firm to give an estimate and install heating.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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

  1. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and improvement notice. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Mr X contacted the Council in January to report that his home is cold. The Council did an inspection and found several hazards, including excessive cold. The Council served an improvement notice on the landlord requiring them to provide suitable and effective heating that is appropriate to the design, layout and construction of the dwelling.
  2. The landlord has not completed the work. This is because Mr X disagrees with the proposed location of the radiators. He has also described the proposed contractor as inept. Mr X did not allow access for the work.
  3. The Council did another inspection but the heating did not progress due to the lack of agreement between Mr X and the landlord. The Council suspended the improvement notice because the landlord could not do the work.
  4. Mr X complained. His complaint included that the Council had not allowed him to appeal against the suspension of the notice. He explained why he did not want the radiators in the proposed position. In response the Council said it had served a notice requiring the landlord to rectify the excess cold but said it could not stipulate where the radiators should be placed or which contractor the landlord should use. The Council explained it suspended the notice because the landlord could not comply. It also explained that the law only gives appeal rights to the landlord.
  5. The Council told me Mr X has not been in touch since completing the complaints process in July. Mr X says he may die of hyperthermia due to the lack of heating.
  6. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council acted correctly by inspecting the property, identifying excess cold, and serving a notice which required the landlord to install heating. The notice did not include specifics such as the position of radiators, or the firm to use and there is no requirement for a notice to include such detail. It is not the Council’s role or duty to mediate between Mr X and the landlord or to tell the landlord they must install the heating in a certain way. The Council would, however, need to be satisfied that the heating met the requirements of the notice and provided adequate heating. The Council correctly told Mr X he does not have appeal rights against the suspension of the notice.
  7. Mr X is worried about the cold. If he feels able to work with the landlord he could contact the landlord, or the Council, to see if the process can be re-started.

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Final decision

  1. 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

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