Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue an improvement notice. Mr X had the right to appeal to the First Tier (Property Chamber) Tribunal, and it was reasonable for him to exercise that right.

The complaint

1. Mr X, a landlord, complains the Council issued an improvement notice due to hazards at his property which he is in the process of fixing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and power

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Under the Housing Act 2004 (the Act) Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provisions, councils have powers 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. If a council considers a category one hazard exists in residential premises, they must take appropriate enforcement action in accordance with the Act. Councils have discretion to take enforcement action if a category two hazard is identified.
8. In April 2025 the Council carried out a HHSRS inspection and identified several category 1 and category 2 hazards. Mr X was issued with an improvement notice.
9. Mr X has questioned if some of the improvements were necessary and says the Council gave him conflicting advice about the work that needed to be carried out. However, Mr X could have appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) if he disagreed with the validity of the notice. The notice provided advice on how to appeal, and I consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have used his appeal right. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had a right to appeal.
10. Mr X has also complained about how the Council communicated with him and says he had difficulties contacting the Council to speak to someone about his concerns. However, I do not consider the injustice Mr X suffered because of these issues, significant enough to warrant an investigation as a stand-alone issue.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the improvement notice because Mr X had a right of appeal, and it was reasonable for him to exercise it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman