Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice sent by the Council for failing to have a working smoke alarm in a rented property that he owns. This is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mr X is a private landlord. He complains that, in 2022, the Council:
1. expected him to pay a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £1,250 for failing to have a working smoke alarm in a rented property that he owns. Mr X says the PCN was invalid because the Council originally sent the PCN to the wrong address in 2021; and,
2. unnecessarily charged him £197 for the smoke alarm it installed.
2. Mr X would like the Council to refund both charges.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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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. In July 2022, Mr X received a PCN of £2,500 from the Council’s private sector housing enforcement team. It sent the PCN because it said Mr X had failed to comply with a previous remedial notice requiring him to install a working smoke alarm in his rented property. The Council carried out the works instead by installing a smoke alarm.
8. Mr X made representations to the Council and gave reasons for his late review request. He explained that he did not receive the original PCN from 2021 because the Council sent it to the incorrect address, despite previously giving his new address to its benefits team. The Council accepted Mr X’s reasons for the late appeal and reduced the PCN from £2,500 to £1,250.
9. In April 2025, Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. He said the Council should refund him the PCN paid and the charges connected with the Council installing a smoke alarm. He says the Council failed to legally serve the original PCN from 2021 because it sent this to an incorrect address. He says this was due to its benefits team failing to share his updated address with its private sector housing enforcement team. Mr X says this meant the PCN was invalid. Mr X says he had installed a working smoke alarm, but his tenant at the time had tampered with it. Mr X’s complaint is late as it concerns issues that occurred between 2020 and 2023. I have seen no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice sent by the Council for failing to have a working smoke alarm in a rented property that he owns. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman