Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to proactively address his reports of disrepair in his private rented property between September 2024 and March 2025. The Council has agreed to take appropriate steps to remedy the uncertainty caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take formal action against the landlord for disrepair in his private rented property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

5. Mr X reported disrepair in his private rented property in July 2024. He told the Council about damp and mould in the bathroom, problems with the shower unit and an electrical issue in the bathroom, and issues with the kitchen floor.
6. The Council carried out an inspection using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) in September 2024. It identified a category 2 hazard in relation to the kitchen floor and wrote to Mr X with the outcome.
7. In March 2025, after Mr X complained, the Council issued an Improvement Notice to the landlord. This required the landlord to carry out the listed repairs/actions by 17 May 2025. On 16 May 2025, the Council reminded the landlord’s agent of the deadline for carrying out repairs and said it would arrange to re-inspect the property.
8. In its stage 2 response, the Council accept a delay between September 2024 and May 2025 but declined to appoint a different officer to take the case forward.
9. If we were to investigate further, it is likely we would find the Council was at fault for failing to progress the matter between September 2024 and March 2025. Although it is the landlord’s responsibility to carry out repairs, Mr X is left with some uncertainty about whether the work would have been completed sooner, but for the Council’s delay and this is an injustice to him.
10. We asked the Council to take steps to remedy the injustice caused and it agreed to take the following steps within one month of the date of this decision:
• Apologise to Mr X in line with our guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice;
• Pay him £400 as a symbolic payment to recognise the uncertainty caused;
• Carry out a review of Mr X’s case to identify what enforcement action is necessary or appropriate and ensure any such action is implemented without delay; and
• Review its supervision and management procedures to ensure it identifies any cases where action has been delayed and instructs officers to take appropriate action.

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Final decision

11. We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about a delay in taking enforcement action against his landlord after he reported disrepair in his private rented property. The Council has agreed to take appropriate action to remedy the injustice caused and prevent recurrence of the fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman