Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her private housing disrepair reports. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation. We will also not investigate her complaint about the Council’s communications about these matters. It is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains about the Council’s response to her reports of private housing disrepair and how it communicated with her. She says the ongoing disrepair and lack of support from the Council affected her living conditions and caused her distress. She wants the Council to apologise, pay her compensation, and provide staff training on treating people with empathy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In December 2024, Miss B submitted a disrepair report to the Council due to damp and mould in her private rented housing.
6. The Council inspected Miss B’s property in December 2024. It identified required works and it issued her landlord a ‘preliminary improvement notice’. This was an informal action requesting the landlord complete specified works by a set deadline. This included guttering repairs and checking the property’s ventilation.
7. The Council said Miss B’s landlord requested an extension to complete some of its requested works and it agreed. It said her landlord then confirmed the works were completed ahead of the original deadline.
8. The Council said it arranged a compliance visit just over two weeks after the notice deadline. After this visit, it said it was satisfied Miss B’s landlord had cooperated and it found no significant hazards remaining in the property. It said it did not consider further action against Miss B’s landlord was warranted.
9. The Council acknowledged Miss B had provided it with what she said was evidence of structural concerns and excessive moisture. It said its trained officers considered this while carrying out their assessments and that it had completed three inspections between December 2024 and April 2025. It said its officers had found no evidence of these issues.
10. We will not investigate this part of Miss B’s complaint. It appears the Council took appropriate steps to inspect her property and, where its officers found hazards, it requested action from her landlord and checked compliance. It was satisfied with her landlord’s actions and decided that formal action was not therefore necessary. Although I understand Miss B disagrees with the Council’s actions, there is not enough evidence of fault in its handling of this matter to justify our involvement.
11. Miss B also complains the Council delayed sending her updates about her case and responding to her communications.
12. In its response, the Council upheld this part of Miss B’s complaint. It said it had reminded relevant staff to issue updates at each stage of investigation.
13. We will not investigate this part of Miss B’s complaint. The Council has accepted fault in its communications and its reminder to relevant staff is an appropriate response. It is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her private housing disrepair reports because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation. We will also not investigate her complaint about the Council’s communications because it is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman