this complaint about the Council’s decision to end Miss X’s garage tenancy agreement. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the Council ending her garage tenancy after it made allegations that she had breached the terms of her tenancy agreement. She says the locks were changed prematurely and she wants to have the tenancy re-instated.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X says the Council told her it was ending her garage tenancy for breaches of the agreement which she disputes. It says she let the garage to her son who used it for purposes other than the agreement and that an adjacent garage was used without permission.
The Council served a 7 day notice to quit but its contractors changed the locks on the day before the notice expired. Miss X still had possessions in the garage. The Council allowed her to use the new keys for a further 2 weeks to clear the garage.
When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions. The Council is the landlord and the agreement allows for 7 days’ notice to terminate a tenancy. There is no right of appeal and the garages are let on a simple contractual basis with termination of the lease effective by either party.
It was reasonable for the Council to allow her longer to clear the garage but it was not fault for the Council to serve the notice for breaches of the agreement which it says it had sufficient evidence.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to end Miss X’s garage tenancy agreement. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman