Private housing disrepair
This fact sheet is primarily aimed at people living in private rented accommodation who have reported disrepair to the council and are considering making a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
My private rented property is in disrepair. Can the Ombudsman help me?
In some cases, yes. But first you will need to contact the council to give it the opportunity to investigate the disrepair you complain about. If you are not satisfied with the council’s response to the matter, you may complain to us.
What is disrepair?
Councils have powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System to take enforcement action against private landlords where the council has identified a hazard which puts the health and safety of the tenant at risk. Hazards include (but are not limited to):
- damp and mould growth
- excess cold or heat
- pollutants
- overcrowding
- fire
- risk from falls, and
- electrical shocks.
Where the council identifies the most serious (‘Category 1’) hazards it is required to take action, but it may choose to take action about less serious (‘Category 2’) hazards
What should the council do?
Once you have reported the disrepair to the council, we would expect the council to promptly consider the matter. This would normally require a visit to your property so the council can inspect the disrepair and make an assessment of the risk to you. If the council identifies a hazard it will need to form a view on whether the hazard can or should be reduced, or removed entirely, and if this is not possible what further action is needed. Unless urgent action is required, the council should give your landlord the opportunity to put the matter right. If the landlord does not take the necessary action, the council should consider using its power to do the work or start enforcement action.
I am a landlord. Will the Ombudsman investigate my complaint about repairs the council has asked me to make to my property?
Possibly. We can consider if the council did something wrong in the way it investigated a complaint of disrepair from your tenant and whether you were caused an injustice as a result. But, we would not normally investigate if the council takes enforcement proceedings against you. This is because most legal notices the council may serve against you have a right of appeal which we would generally expect to be used.
How do I complain?
The council’s policy should say how long it will take to respond. Our Complaint Handling Code says councils should have no more than two stages in a complaint process. The longest a complaint should take is 16 weeks.
The council should provide you with updates on your complaint, including when it may take longer to respond.
If your complaint is not making any progress, you can follow our top tips for making a complaint to find out what is happening.
If you complained more than 16 weeks ago, and you have not received a final response, we may be able to make enquiries about what is happening to your complaint. You should have tried to ask the council what is happening before contacting us about any delay.
If the council has sent you a final response (usually saying something like ‘this is our final response’) and you are unhappy with the outcome, you can complain to us.
You should normally make your complaint to us within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong.
If you can consider my complaint what will the Ombudsman look for?
We will consider whether the council has done something wrong in the way it responded to the disrepair you reported. For example, if the council:
- took too long to inspect your property and/or take action against your landlord
- did not take enforcement action when it had a duty to do so, or
- did not keep you updated on its investigation.
What happens if the Ombudsman finds the council was at fault?
If we find the council did not deal with your case properly we will consider whether it should do something to put matters right. We may ask the council to:
- take urgent steps to inspect the property or carry out the repair, or
- assess whether enforcement action is required.
Sometimes we ask the council to make a payment. We may also recommend that it reviews the way it deals with similar cases.
Examples of some complaints we have considered
Other sources of information
Government guidance on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9425/150940.pdf
Our fact sheets give some general information about the most common type of complaints we receive but they cannot cover every situation. If you are not sure whether we can look into your complaint, please call 0300 061 0614.
October 2024