Summary: Mr B complained the Council delayed in taking action despite recognising category one hazards at his accommodation. We find the Council at fault for a delay in taking enforcement action when category one hazards were identified. This caused Mr B distress, frustration and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to Mr B and complete service improvements to remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained he reported disrepair issues to the Council in July 2023 and the Council has failed to act despite recognising category one hazards. Mr B also says the Council has failed to follow its own complaints policy. Mr B says the Council’s failure to repair the issues has significantly impacted his physical health and emotional wellbeing. Mr B also says the lack of action has led to further deterioration and worsening living conditions. Mr B says the poor service and communication from the Council has wasted his time. Mr B would like the Council to:
• Complete the necessary work without further delay.
• Complete a review of its process for addressing serious hazards and provide a detailed list of learning points and a comprehensive action plan.
• Provide compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), 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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. The law says we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Mr B complained to us in February 2025 about events dating back to July 2023. This means Mr B took more than 12 months to complain to us however, it is clear Mr B delayed in bringing his complaint to us because he was in regular communication with the Council and he believed action would be taken to resolve the issues. I consider it reasonable to exercise discretion and investigate back to November 2023, which is when the Council first identified the category one hazards at Mr B’s property.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

8. Private tenants may complain to their Council about a failure by the landlord to keep the property in good repair. Councils 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.
9. Section 1 of the Housing Act 2004 states this system applies to ‘residential premises’, which includes any common parts of a building containing one or more flats (Housing Act 2004 Part 1(4)(d)).
10. If the Council considers a category 1 hazard exists in residential premises, they must take appropriate enforcement action in accordance with section 5 of the Housing Act 2004.
11. Appropriate enforcement action can be any of the following:
1. Serving an improvement notice under section 11;
2. Making a prohibition order under section 20;
3. Serving a hazard awareness notice under section 28;
4. Taking emergency remedial action under section 40;
5. Making an emergency prohibition order under section 43;
6. Making a demolition order under subsection (1) or (2) of section 265 of the Housing Act 2985 (c.68);
7. Declaring the area in which the premises concerned are situated to be a clearance area by virtue of section 289(2) of that Act.
12. Councils have discretion to take enforcement action if a category two hazard is identified.
13. The Council’s published complaints policy states complaints will be acknowledged within three working days with a letter which will state what will be done, when the reply will be given and who to contact about the complaint.
14. At stage one of the complaints process the Council should provide a response within 20 working days.
15. At stage two of the complaints process the council should provide a response from the head of service within 20 working days.

What happened

Background

16. The following is a summary of key events and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
17. Mr B is the leaseholder for a flat which sits within a building containing more than one flat. In July 2023 Mr B contacted the Council to report issues of disrepair in the communal areas of the building. Mr B explained to the Council he had tried to contact the freeholder directly, but the issues of disrepair had not been addressed. The Council completed an initial inspection in September 2023.

Enforcement action

18. At the end of November 2023, the Council completed another inspection of the property and sent Mr B a copy of the schedule of deficiencies. The schedule identified 21 deficiencies and 20 hazards, 4 of which were identified as category one hazards. In response to our enquiries the Council provided a second schedule of deficiencies from the same inspection, however this schedule identifies 33 hazards, only 2 of which were identified as category one hazards.
19. The Council wrote to the freeholder, Mr X, 3 weeks after the inspection. The Council provided a copy of the schedule of deficiencies which detailed 21 deficiencies, of which 4 were identified as category one hazards. The Council did not take any of the enforcement actions set out in section 5 of the Housing Act 2004 at this time.
20. The following week the Council was contacted by a family member of Mr X. The family member informed the Council Mr X had passed away in 2023 and the family had recently been granted probate. The family explained they were in the process of managing the estate and asked the Council to provide further options in light of this information.
21. The Council asked the family to complete some paperwork and return it within two weeks. The Council explained it planned to re-issue the initial letter and schedule of deficiencies to the new freeholders and begin the process again.
22. The Council contacted Mr B to make him aware of the situation and assured him its expectations for completing the repair work had not changed.
23. In March 2024 the Council wrote to the new freeholders to provide the schedule of deficiencies and request they inform the Council of their proposals to remedy the deficiencies. The letter advised the new owners the Council would serve a statutory notice to remedy the deficiencies if necessary.
24. The Council wrote to the building owners again in June 2024 to advise it was considering serving a statutory notice. The Council asked the owners to provide written confirmation the deficiencies would be resolved and provide intended start and completion dates for the repair work.
25. Between June 2024 and the end of September 2024 the Council remained in contact with the building owners. At the end of September, the Council wrote to the freeholders to insist repair works commence as soon as possible to avoid enforcement action. The building owners repeatedly stated the delay in beginning work was due to being unable to obtain quotes from contractors.
26. The freeholders contacted the Council in November 2024 to explain they had taken steps to contact the leaseholders regarding the necessary repair work.
27. The Council wrote to the freeholders again in November 2024 to request the intended start and completion dates for the repair work and a copy of the quotes which had been received for completing the work.
28. The freeholders contacted the Council in December 2024 to explain the freehold had been sold and they no longer had any legal interest in the property.
29. The Council did not receive details of the new freeholders until February 2025. Between February 2025 and June 2025, the Council was in contact with the new freeholders, but it did not take any of the enforcement actions set out in part 5 of the Housing Act 2004.
30. Between November 2023 and June 2025, the Council remained in regular contact with Mr B and provided him with updates as and when it could.
31. The Council issued an improvement notice for the category one hazard and a hazard awareness notice for the remaining hazards in the second week of June 2025.

Communication and complaint handling

32. Mr B submitted a complaint to the Council in October 2024. The Council issued a stage one response within 20 working days. In the stage one complaint response the Council said Mr B was sent an updated schedule of deficiencies in March 2024.
33. Mr B responded to the Council’s stage one response to explain he felt there were parts of his complaint which had not been included within the response. Mr B explained he had not received an updated schedule of deficiencies in March 2024. The Council agreed to provide a response to Mr B’s outstanding matters by the first week of December 2024.
34. The Council provided a response to Mr B’s outstanding matters 6 days later than it had agreed to. Mr B then escalated his complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints process.
35. The Council issued a stage two complaint response 1 week later than the response deadline. The Council apologised for the delay and explained the delay was due to the complexity of the case.
36. In the stage two complaint response the Council say it reissued the schedule of deficiencies on 7 January 2025, and this schedule shows 1 category one hazard and 13 category two hazards.

My findings

37. The Council has provided two different documents which show the schedule of deficiencies for the November 2023 inspection. Mr B has repeatedly been provided contradictory schedules. This is fault which has caused Mr B frustration.
38. Although there have been circumstances and delays outside of the Council’s control, the Council repeatedly engaged in informal action with each freeholder, despite the identification of category one hazards. The Council did not take the necessary enforcement action until June 2025, 19 months after the category one hazards were first identified. The Council did not progress to enforcement stage with the second set of freeholders despite making them aware of the hazards in March 2024 and no work being planned in the 9 month timeframe before the property sold. This is fault which caused Mr B frustration, distress and uncertainty and left him at risk of harm from the identified hazards.
39. There is no evidence to suggest the Council failed to adhere to its complaints process. The stage one response was issued within the correct timeframe and, although Mr B was not satisfied with the response, the Council responded to his response and escalated his complaint to stage two. The stage two response was issued one week late, however this was communicated to Mr B in accordance with the complaints policy.
40. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s communication with Mr B between November 2023 and June 2025.

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Action

41. Within one month of the final decision the Council will:
• Apologise to Mr B for the faults identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making its apology.
• Make a symbolic payment of £2,850 to Mr B in recognition of the injustice caused by the delay in taking enforcement action. This is calculated at £150 per month of delay between November 2023 and June 2025 and considers the impact the delay had on Mr B.
42. Within three months of the final decision the Council will:
• Ensure its policies and procedures for enforcement action in cases where category one hazards are identified is in line with the Council’s duty to take formal enforcement action under Section 5 of the Housing Act 2004.
• Complete training with its relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the Council’s duty to take enforcement action in cases where category one hazards are identified.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

44. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to complete actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman