Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his reports of private housing disrepair. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to take appropriate action following his reports of disrepair in his private rented housing. He also complains about poor complaints handling. He says the matter has caused distress and affected his physical and mental health. He wants the Council to allocate him a different case officer, take further enforcement action against his landlord, review the hazards within his home and award him appropriate compensation for its failures.

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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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In February 2025, Mr X contacted the Council about disrepair in his private rented property. The Council inspected his property the same month. It identified Category 2 hazards and issued the landlord with an Improvement Notice, requiring remedial works to be completed by the end of May 2025.
7. In April, the landlord’s agent advised the Council they were having difficulty contacting Mr X to arrange access to the property. In response, the Council arranged a meeting with Mr X and the landlord to agree a plan to complete the works. Mr X then asked the landlord to pause the works whilst he arranged for an advocate.
8. In August, Mr X complained to the Council that the landlord had still not completed the works and that the Council had failed to take further action. He said the matter was affecting his physical and mental health. In its complaint responses, the Council said it was satisfied the landlord was making attempts to comply with the notice. It said it had decided to vary the notice to allow the landlord more time to complete the works. It said it did not consider it was appropriate to fine the landlord or prosecute them at this stage, but it would work with Mr X and the landlord to try and resolve the matter. It said it has reviewed the communications between Mr X and the Council and found no evidence of rude or dismissive communications or officer misconduct.
9. We will not investigate this complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault. The Council appropriately inspected Mr X’s property following his contact in February 2025. It decided to issue an enforcement notice and subsequently used its discretion to vary the notice, to allow the landlord more time to complete the repairs. The Council has discretion to decide what, if any, enforcement action is appropriate in each case and when it may be appropriate to prosecute a landlord for non-compliance. Although Mr X is dissatisfied with the Council’s actions, I am satisfied the Council has appropriately considered the matter and explained its decision making to Mr X. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.
10. Mr X also complains about poor complaints handling. In its responses, the Council acknowledged the delays in its complaint handling and apologised to him for any frustration caused by this. We will not investigate this as it is not a good use of our resources to investigate complaints handling where we decide not to investigate the substantive matter, and it is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman