The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s Environmental Health Team’s response to Mr X’s report of a repair issue at his housing association property. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I call Mr X, says the Council’s Environmental Health Team did not do enough when he reported his housing association had not fixed a leak in his ceiling.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X is a tenant in a housing association property. He complained to the Council about its Environmental Health Team’s response to his report of a water leak affecting his ceiling.
The Council did not uphold his complaint. It found that it had raised his concerns with the housing association and satisfied itself the repairs had been carried out.
In response to Mr X’s concern that the officer dealing with his case knew someone who works at the housing association, the Council said his case had been allocated to a senior and experienced officer who in their professional capacity works with many different landlords and housing association staff and contractors.
There is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council. The housing association was responsible for investigating and resolving the leak. The Council contacted it when Mr X said the matter had not been resolved and it satisfied itself the work had been completed.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman