Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about private housing disrepair and the Council’s response to a request to complete an inspection on a House in Multiple Occupation. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to consider it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to investigate concerns he raised about his rented accommodation, which was a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in 2023 and early 2024. Mr X also complains the Council’s actions directly led to the landlord serving him an eviction notice, exposing him to the threat of homelessness. Mr X also complains the Council failed to inform him about changes to his property’s House in Multiple Occupation license.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. 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 investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complains the Council failed to respond to disrepair reports he made to his home’s property management company in 2023 and to the Council in February 2024. Mr X brought his complaint to us in October 2025. This part of Mr X’s complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate it now, so the restriction in paragraph two applies.
7. When it reviewed Mr X‘s landlord’s HMO licence, the Council added the condition that once he vacates the property, his accommodation should no longer be made available to rent, until the landlord had completed alterations. Mr X was unhappy the Council did not tell him about these changes, saying as a tenant, it directly affected him. We will not investigate this part of the complaint because any fault Mr X alleges, has not caused him a significant injustice. At this point Mr X was already in dialogue relating to property disrepair and any concerns he had were raised to the Council.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because elements of the complaint are late and there is insufficient injustice arising from the rest of the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman