Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s support for tenants living in her property because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable. Further, it is reasonable for Ms X to take court action in relation to any rent arrears or to obtain vacant possession.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of a property she let to it. She says it did not take the action it agreed to take to support the tenancy, which means rent arrears and property damage occurred. Ms X says the experience has been very stressful and the Council has not helped her. She wants the tenants to leave.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

7. Ms X let a property to the Council and received an incentive payment and a deposit (bond). The Council let the property to tenants, who needed some support from Adult Social Care (ASC).
8. Ms X said the Council agreed the property would only be let to tenants who received housing benefit that covered the full rent, but it did not carry out proper checks, which meant the tenants were in arrears from the start. The Council said it was unlikely housing benefit would cover the rent, and any tenants would need to use other benefits to cover the shortfall. It said it provided support to the tenants to address the arrears, which were cleared.
9. Ms X also complained about the condition of the property. The Council said it had supported the tenants to address the concerns Ms X had raised. This included visits to the property, and it said it took photos to confirm no damage has occurred. In its complaint response, it said it would discuss with Ms X what sums were needed to bring the property back to an appropriate standard when the tenants left. In addition, it told us it would be happy to inspect when the tenants leave and support with any justifiable concerns not covered by the deposit.
10. The Council accepts it has not always kept Ms X fully updated and did not respond to some of her emails, for which it has apologised. In its complaint response, it gave Ms X contact details for a senior officer she could contact if she had further concerns.

My assessment

11. There is a dispute about whether the Council agreed to ensure any tenants received housing benefit that would cover the rent, which I cannot resolve. However, the Council supported the tenants to address the rent arrears that accrued, so there is insufficient injustice to justify further investigation. In any case, it would be reasonable for a landlord to take court action in the event of rent arrears.
12. It would also be reasonable for Ms X to take court action to obtain vacant possession if she wants the tenants to leave and this is not something we could achieve by further investigation.
13. There is also a dispute about the condition of the property. The Council said it had supported the tenants to address the concerns Ms X had raised. Further, it has said it will support with any justifiable concerns not covered by the deposit paid. Further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome.
14. The Council has accepted some poor communication, for which it has apologised, and that is sufficient to remedy the injustice caused.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome and its is reasonable for Ms X to take court action to obtain vacant possession of the property.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman