Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his reports of disrepair in a private rented property. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to take appropriate action in response to his reports of disrepair. He also raised concerns about the Council’s poor communication with him.
2. He stated this led to avoidable distress, his eventual eviction, and financial hardship, including the cost of replacing damaged furniture and lost income from taking time off for inspections. Mr X is seeking compensation for the inadequate service provided by the Council. He wants the Council to re-inspect the property, and take enforcement action should disrepair still be present.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X moved into privately rented accommodation in 2019 and reported a series of disrepair issues to his landlord in 2023, about mould, damp, and a leaking boiler. He contacted the Council in August 2023, after the landlord and letting agent failed to address the disrepair.
8. When Mr X contacted the Council, it decided to conduct an inspection. It decided enforcement actions were not necessary but instead took informal action. It advised the landlord and agent to address the issues but did not inform Mr X it had decided to take informal action. Mr X complained to the Council about this. The Council further liaised with the landlord asking them to withdraw a Section 21 notice they had served to evict Mr X. Mr X subsequently secured new accommodation.
9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his reports of disrepair, or about the service he received from the Council. The Council inspected the property. It did not identify any category one hazards that would warrant formal enforcement action. Instead, the Council opted to take informal action, identified necessary repairs, and contacted the landlord with a list of required works. It carried out a final inspection to ensure the repairs had been completed. Although the Council did not tell Mr X it had taken informal action, that in itself is not a good reason to investigate his complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault in the steps the Council took following Mr X’s report of disrepair to justify investigating. In addition, Mr X no longer lives at the property so there is no ongoing injustice to justify investigating this complaint.
10. Mr X believes the Council Officer’s involved in the inspection may have had a personal relationship with the landlord. There is no record of Mr X raising his concern about a conflict of interest with the Council therefore we will not investigate this part of his complaint. We expect a person to exhaust the Council’s complaint procedure before we will consider a matter.
11. Mr X wants the letting agent and the landlord to compensate him for the avoidable distress and the financial strain they caused. Both of these agencies are outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction therefore this is not a remedy we can achieve.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman