Milton Keynes Council (25 016 111)
Category : Housing > Private housing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
The complaint
- In short, Ms X complains about hazards in her rented property and what happened when she notified the Council’s private sector enforcement unit.
- She also says her housing allocation issues have not been dealt with fairly.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
- The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X informed has informed us that she is taking court action against the Council. This is in connection with its response to her reports of hazards and disrepair in her rented property.
- We cannot investigate. We have no powers to consider matters subject to court proceedings. We also would not look at any side issues such as complaint handling or procedural delay. This is because it is not a good use of public money to look at side issues if we are not looking at the substantive issue.
- With respect to Ms X’s remaining complaint concerning housing allocations, this is premature as the matter has not been addressed by the Council first. It would be reasonable for Ms X to raise her concerns with the Council before we can consider.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because one part is subject to legal proceedings and the remaining housing allocation matters are premature.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman