Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a private tenancy eviction. We cannot achieve all the outcomes Mrs X wants.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that a Council officer gave the wrong advice about a tenancy eviction.
2. Mrs X said it caused distress, financial loss and time to recover the property.
3. Mrs X would like the Council to apologise, make service changes and cover her financial losses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X is the landlord for her privately owned property which she rented out to a tenant. The tenant surrendered their tenancy with immediate effect in August 2025. After communicating with the tenant, Mrs X accepted the surrender.
8. The tenant did not leave and in September 2025 they advised Mrs X they wanted to stay in the property. Mrs X carried out an inspection of the property and changed the locks.
9. The tenant applied to the Council for assistance and said they did not have notice to leave the property. The tenant said they were street homeless.
10. A Council officer tried to contact Mrs X immediately but was unsuccessful. The officer advised the tenant they may be entitled under the law to use reasonable force to access the property. The tenant did so.
11. The officer also wrote to Mrs X and said she had not followed the correct eviction process. Mrs X was instructed to allow the tenant to return to the property or legal action could be considered.
12. Mrs X complained to the Council about the actions of the Council officer and the letter she received. In its response the Council said the letter it had sent did not follow the standard process and the officer’s advice had not been based on the facts presented to them. It apologised for this and said it would provide training to the officer. The Council advised Mrs X of the process to bring a claim of financial loss to its insurers.
13. The financial remedy Mrs X would like is significant. We exist to remedy injustice, rather than to provide compensation. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to bring a claim to a court for her reported financial loss. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint because we could not fully achieve all the outcomes Mrs X wants.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not fully achieve the outcomes Mrs X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman