Birmingham City Council (25 026 752)
Category : Housing > Private housing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about private sector housing support. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this.
The complaint
- Ms X says the Council has failed to support her when she complained about the actions of her landlord. She says her landlord threatened and harassed her and failed to carry out repairs. The Council upheld her complaint in June 2024 but then took no action for 19 months.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X complained to the Council in May 2024 about the actions of her private landlord over several years and the Council’s failure to support her.
- The Council upheld Ms X’s complaint in June 2024. It said that it would assign a private tenancy support officer.
- In January 2026 Ms X escalated her complaint with the Council. However, it replied due to the length of time that had passed she needed to make a new complaint
- Ms X complained to the Ombudsman in February 2026.
- We will not investigate this complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this. Ms X’s complaint relates to a matter she was aware of from at least May 2024. However, she did not complain to the Ombudsman until 20 months later.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman