Summary: We will not investigate the Council’s advice to Miss X’s tenants after she took legal action to end her tenancy contract with her tenants. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. In short, Miss X says the Council advised her tenants to remain in her rental property despite her obtaining a possession order and eviction notice requiring her tenants to leave.
2. Miss X says the Council’s advice caused her continuing property damage, financial loss and emotional distress.
3. Miss X would like a financial remedy to cover her losses and improvements to the Council’s advice to tenants.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Miss X says the Council advised her tenants who were in rent arrears to remain in her rental property after she had obtained a possession and eviction order requiring her tenants to leave. Miss X says this resulted in additional rent arrears and loss of rental income as they remained in the property until the warrant for eviction was executed by bailiffs.
8. The Council says it cannot discuss individual advice given to people seeking homelessness advice. But generally it confirms that it advises people of their legal rights under the Council’s ‘prevention’ duty to secure alternative legal accommodation or negotiate new terms with current landlords.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
10. We will not investigate. This is because there is no information to indicate the Council gave general advice.
11. Overall however, the decision to remain in the property without paying rent was one taken by the tenants. As a private landlord, Miss X can seek redress for her losses by enforcing her legal agreement with her ex-tenants in court or via any landlord insurance.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate the Council’s advice to Miss X’s tenants. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman