Summary: We found fault on Miss Y’s complaint about the way the Council dealt with her reports against her landlord who failed to carry out all necessary repairs as required. There were delays, failures to keep her updated, failures to show it considered whether it needed to trace the owner, and delayed consideration of whether the repairs were hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. It also failed to signpost her to seek legal advice about a possible claim for a Rent Repayment Order or protection from landlord harassment. Nor did it show it considered whether it needed to do outstanding works itself. The Council agreed to send Miss Y an apology, pay £350 for the injustice caused, remind relevant officers about action needed and what they need to consider in future similar situations, as well as reviewing why the delays happened so they are not repeated in the future.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains about the Council failing to:
1. carry out basic checks, such as ownership, of the private property she rents when it placed her there under its Rent Deposit Scheme in 2016; and
2. take effective action against the landlord/owner who refused to carry out necessary repairs.
2. As a result, she continues to live in accommodation that has damp, mould, and needs repairing because the Council is unable to trace the owner to serve a notice requiring repairs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. 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)
6. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.

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What I have and have not investigated

7. I exercised discretion to investigate Miss Y’s complaint to 2023. Usually we do not investigate late complaints. Miss Y made a late complaint as she complained to us in February 2025. This meant we would usually investigate from February 2024 only. I exercised discretion because the evidence showed she continued to pursue the ongoing issue of disrepair with the Council for the last two years.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Miss Y, the notes I made of our telephone conversation, the Council’s response to my enquiries, as well as relevant law, policy, and guidance. I sent a copy of the draft decision to Miss Y and the Council. I considered their responses.

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What I found

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

9. 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 HHSRS (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. The HHSRS is used to assess all the main housing related hazards. It recognises all homes will contain some hazards. It provides a means of assessing homes which reflects the risk from any hazard. It allows a judgement to be made about whether the risk in the particular circumstances is or is not acceptable. The assessment is solely about the risk to health and safety and not about the quality or standard of any works.
11. Private tenants can complain to a council about the failure of a landlord to keep the property in good repair. A council has powers under the HHSRS to inspect and assess the condition of tenanted properties.
12. Hazards assessed fall into two categories. The most serious hazards are classed category 1, with less serious hazards being category 2. If a Council identifies a category 1 hazard in a property, it must serve an Improvement Notice saying what the owner must do to stop the hazard. If a Council identifies a category 2 hazard, it has the power, but not the duty, to act.
13. The HHSRS also outlines hazard bands to identify the danger a hazard presents to a person. Band A is the highest potential hazard and Band J is the lowest potential hazard.
14. There are several notices available to councils that require an owner to comply with requirements related to category 1 or category 2 hazards. These include:
• Hazard Awareness Notice: this gives formal notice that a hazard exists. The notice does not have to be acted on, but a council can take further formal action should an unacceptable hazard remain. This notice is most commonly used for category 2 hazards; and
• Improvement Notice: this requires remedial works within a specified time and must, as a minimum, remove category 1 hazards.
15. Government guidance says if a landlord agrees to take the action required by a council it might be appropriate to wait before serving a notice. This is unless the landlord fails to start the work within a reasonable time.

The Council’s enforcement policy

16. The Council’s ‘Environmental Health and Building Control Enforcement Policy’ states fair and effective enforcement is essential to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents.
17. Its work must be carried out in ways that are transport, accountable, proportionate, and considered. It also needs to be targeted at cases in which action is needed.
18. The Council will decide what level of enforcement action to take. Where it decides to take formal action, it then considers whether that action is viable and appropriate. It can decide to take no action, to revisit premises, issue informal verbal warnings and advice, issue informal notices, as well as issuing formal enforcement notices, such as an Improvement Notice.

What happened

19. In 2016, the Council placed Miss Y and her children in a three bedroom first floor flat under its Rent Deposit Scheme (RDS) because she was homeless. The scheme supported tenants to access private rented accommodation by helping them with the deposit.
20. Miss Y believed the Council should have checked ownership of the property or reached an agreement with the landlord to carry out repairs, before placing her in it. As a result of this failure, she said this later caused problems for the environmental health team which wanted to take enforcement action about disrepair.
21. She complained she had issues with the landlord who turned out not to own the property. She claimed the landlord harassed her.
22. The Council explained the RDS was very basic. It recently phased it out and replaced it with Spelthorne Rent Assure (SRA) which is a guarantee rent scheme. Under the new scheme, more thorough checks and documentation are needed. This includes ownership of a property. The Council accepted there were less stringent checks under the previous scheme.

2023:

23. In February, Miss Y contacted the environmental health team because of a large crack on both sides of the bay window. Bits of the wall were coming away and there was mould and damp. Environmental health officers visited and decided these were maintenance issues. There was communication with the landlord who visited the property with a builder. Miss Y said the landlord never visited the inside of her property with a builder.
24. In April, the Council sent a Notice of Intention setting out the defects in the property to the landlord. It also asked for an update on works needed. The Notice of Intention warned the Council was considering taking enforcement action against the landlord and owner. It set out what was wrong with the property and what had to be done to remedy it. It gave a deadline to do the works. Failure to comply could lead to it serving a formal notice. It wanted a response within 14 days showing their intention about the works. The only address the Council had for the owner was that of Miss Y’s property so sent it there. Miss Y had no forwarding address for the owner.
25. In May, shortly after the deadline had passed, the Council sent a warning letter to the landlord as it had not heard from her. It warned a formal notice would be served if she did not respond within 14 days.
26. In July, eight weeks after the deadline had passed, the landlord replied saying the flat would be sold at auction in August when Miss Y left at the end of her notice period.
27. The following month, the Council asked the landlord for an update and tried to visit. The landlord said Miss Y refused to leave. All communication with the freehold owner was returned to the Council, presumably because it was sent to Miss Y’s address.
28. The Council told Miss Y it needed to serve the freeholder/owner with a notice, but she had no contact details for him. She told the Council the owner had not paid the mortgage, so bailiffs had visited. She denied she was in arrears with her rent.
29. The Council asked the landlord for the owner’s details which she claimed not to have.
30. In September, Miss Y contacted the Council again about cracking and mould. The Council told Miss Y it had not heard from the landlord. She confirmed that while the landlord had plastered over the cracks, she still had a problem with wet walls.
31. An officer visited again in November (about 8 weeks later) and told Miss Y they would serve a section 239 Housing Act 2004 notice of entry, which it did. This power is used where a council considers an examination of premises is necessary. It allows an officer to enter the premises at a reasonable time to carry out a survey or examination.
32. The officer witnessed wet patches on walls, the cause of which was possible defective guttering. No black mould was seen. The Council wrote to the landlord about her failure to confirm her intentions about the disrepairs. The landlord said she would do the repairs as she intended to sell the property.

2024:

33. In January (about 6 weeks later), the Council responded to Miss Y’s chasing email and apologised for the delay but said a redrafted Notice of Intention was waiting to be checked.
34. In February, the Council asked Miss Y for clarification on a few issues so it could finalise the Notice of Intention.
35. In March, it sent a warning letter to the landlord about new works that needed doing. It also sent a schedule of works needed. This included works to the front external wall which was damp, new windows, and mould washes.
36. In April, a new officer took over the case and had contact from the landlord who was visiting with her builder.
37. The next month the Council warned the landlord about the need to contact it within 7 days. The Council gave Miss Y an update and said it would then progress to formal notices if it heard nothing.
38. In June, the landlord replied saying she had been ill. She claimed she had the damp investigated and repaired its cause. She would consider replacing the windows if Miss Y paid the £5,000 rent arrears and removed the dogs from the property.
39. The Council updated Miss Y about the landlord’s response the following month and that it had asked for further information. It apologised for the delays which was due to staff shortages. It asked her what works were outstanding.
40. In October, Miss Y chased the Council for an update. The cracking and water penetration was getting worse. Later that month, another officer took over the case. The officer asked for Miss Y to send details of works already done.
41. In December, an officer visited the site after not being able to contact Miss Y. An email was sent to the landlord with a Notice of Intention of the works needed.
42. In January 2025, Miss Y again chased the Council having heard nothing after the deadline to the landlord expired. She pointed out the Council had addressed the letter to the owner at her address which was obviously why he had not replied.
43. The landlord told the Council there were problems getting the owners underneath Miss Y to agree to pay towards the rendering needed on the external walls. Following an officer visit, the Council decided there were five Category 2 hazards.
44. In February, the landlord told the Council about Miss Y’s boyfriend’s abusive behaviour during an estate agent viewing and so would not put any workmen in danger from him. Miss Y does not accept this account and claims the estate agent was rude.
45. The Council served an Improvement Notice in March 2025 after a further visit. This set out what action the landlord needed to take. An Improvement Notice is a formal instruction by a council requiring the carrying out of specified works. It is a criminal offence to fail to comply with it. This was sent to Miss Y’s address, and she was updated.
46. The landlord did partial remedial works to the external rendering of the property the following month. Despite this, there are works to be done such as work to draughty windows. The landlord failed to comply with the Improvement Notice.
47. In June, the Council arranged another visit and again warned the landlord about failing to comply.
48. In response to her complaint, the Council told Miss Y the correct procedures were followed under RDS at the time of her placement. The RDS did not involve thorough checks though, which was why there were no mortgage compliance checks or HM Land Registry checks.
49. While bailiffs were looking for the owner for non-payment of the mortgage, the bank agreed to adjourn possession proceedings for a year.
50. The Council offered to guarantee Miss Y’s rent if she moved should there be a shortfall between the private rent under the new scheme and the ever growing gap between the local housing allowance and private rental prices.
51. While the landlord issued court proceedings to evict Miss Y due to rent arrears, as the correct procedures were not followed, she remains in it.
52. As she has an adult son and a young daughter, which means she needs a three bedroom property, the Council placed her in Band B under its housing allocation scheme.

My findings

53. I found the following on this complaint:
1. The Council has clearly tightened its procedures with the new SRA scheme. It now requires evidence of ownership. While there was a failure to require this under the previous RDS, on balance, I am not satisfied this was fault. The Council had the name and contact details of the landlord. It could take action against the landlord to ensure repairs were done. It did not need the owner’s details to ensure they were done. Even if it had the owner’s details, on balance, I consider it unlikely to have made a real difference to the outcome of Miss Y’s situation. This is because it is speculative to conclude the owner would have acted in response, especially considering the attempts by bailiffs acting on the bank’s possession proceedings to track him down.
2. There were delays by the Council in progressing action with the landlord. For example, in July 2023 there was a period of eight weeks after the deadline had passed in the Notice of Intention before the landlord contacted the Council about it. An officer visited the property in November, about eight weeks after Miss Y confirmed the landlord had done some filling of the cracks. She was then told the Council would serve a notice of entry.
3. An officer visited, wrote to the landlord but Miss Y had to chase the Council again about six weeks later to find out what was happening. It was not until March 2024 that it finally sent a warning letter to the landlord about outstanding works. There was nothing to show what was happening between June and October, when Miss Y again chased the Council for an update. The Council finally served an Improvement Notice in March 2025, three months after another officer visit.
4. I note the landlord had done some works to the property such as filling in the cracking as well as the rendering, which was delayed because of the need to get the downstairs owner’s agreement.
5. I also took account of the apologies and explanations the Council gave Miss Y about the delays which were mainly to do with staff shortages.
6. I am satisfied the delays amount to fault. They caused Miss Y an avoidable injustice as she suffered uncertainty about what was happening, had the inconvenience of chasing the Council about progress, and lost the opportunity to have matters moved on sooner than they were.
7. There was a failure to show whether the Council considered if it needed to take steps to trace the owner itself. This caused Miss Y an injustice as she had the uncertainty of not knowing whether the outcome might have differed but for the fault.
8. I am also satisfied there was a failure to show the Council considered whether there were hazards under the HHSRS sooner than it did. I reached this conclusion because the officer who visited towards the end of 2023 found wet patches on Miss Y’s walls. Damp is a hazard listed under the HHSRS. I consider this failure was fault. It caused Miss Y an injustice because she lost the opportunity to have this considered sooner.
9. The works under the Improvement Notice were not done, which is a criminal offence. There was no evidence of the Council signposting Miss Y to legal advice because of non-compliance. Under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, failure to comply with it meant she could have considered seeking a Rent Repayment Order. This is an order requiring a landlord who commits certain offences to repay rent. This was a possible cause of action open to her, despite the owner’s contact details being unknown. This was fault and I am satisfied this caused Miss Y an injustice. She lost the opportunity to explore whether this was an option she could pursue.
10. There was nothing to show whether the Council considered carrying out the required work itself. This was fault. While the Council may well have decided not to do them, Miss Y lost the opportunity to have the Council turn its mind to it.
11. Miss Y stated in her contact with the Council that she was being harassed by the landlord. I note, for example, the landlord telling the Council she would replace the windows provided Miss Y paid rent arrears and removed dogs from the property. I saw no evidence of it telling her she might wish to take legal advice as the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 gives rights and remedies to tenants bullied by landlords, for example. I consider this was fault and caused Miss Y some injustice as she lost the opportunity to explore this as an option.

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Action

54. I took our guidance on remedies into account. I also took account of the Council’s response to my draft decision which said:

• Officers would revisit her home to assess the current situation and review the HHSRS score because of works done;
• Problems identifying the owner caused some issues and delays; and
• There were significant staffing problems which caused delays and a gap when there was no investigation officer leading this case. The officer who now has the case is responsive and takes appropriate action.

55. The Council agreed to take the following action within four weeks of the final decision on this complaint:
1. Send Miss Y a written apology for the injustice the following failings caused: delays progressing her case; not keeping her updated; not showing it considered whether it needed to trace the owner itself; delays considering hazards in the property under the HHSRS; failing to signpost her to legal advice about a Rent Repayment Order; failing to signpost her to legal advice about protection from harassment by the landlord; not showing it considered whether it needed to do the required works itself.
2. Pay £350 for the injustice caused by the identified fault.
3. Review why delays happened and act, if it has not done so already, to ensure they cannot be repeated on future cases.
4. Remind relevant officers of the need to:

• keep those making reports updated about progress on their case.
• show consideration was given, where appropriate, to the need for the Council to trace owners of properties when it may be considering taking formal enforcement action.
• consider whether the problems identified in a property amount to a hazard under the HHSRS.
• signpost those making a report of the possible need to take legal advice about Rent Repayment Orders and protection of harassment by a landlord where appropriate.
5. Ensure officers are aware of the need to show consideration was given to whether the Council should carry out required works itself where there is a failure to comply with an Improvement Notice.

56. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

57. I found the following on the complaints Miss Y had against the Council:

• Complaint a): no fault; and
• Complaint b): fault causing injustice.

58. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman