The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s inspections of private housing disrepair since 2021. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s inspections of his private rented flat since 2021, although this relates to issues dating back to 2018. He says the Council failed to pursue the landlord to comply with an improvement notice served in 2021 and that he suffered from cold and dampness due to disrepair in the flat which he has since vacated. He wants the Council to compensate him for its deficiencies.
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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he has complained about the state of repair of a flat he lived in during 2018 to recent months. He says that the Council served an improvement notice on his landlord but later revoked the notice in 2019. He had a new landlord following the sale of the premises in 2020 and the Council served another improvement notice for identified hazards under the Housing Act 2004.
Mr X says the Council allowed the landlord to delay carrying out identified repairs and that he suffered during this time. The Council closed the enforcement case in December 2021 when it was satisfied that the requirements of the notice had bene met following the issue of a penalty against the landlord. Mr X says he reported other repairs following that date and the Council has investigated these and says the landlord co-operated with it.
The landlord served a section 21 possession notice on Mr X because he said he wished to sell the property. Mr X has vacated the flat but says he believes the possession action was retaliatory for reported disrepair. The Council says this is not the case and it will continue to require some other works to be completed in the interests of future tenants.
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. The matters which Mr X complained about go back as far as 2019 and the Council advised him to contact us in September 2021 when it completed the complaints procedure. Mr X did not complain to us until March 2024 which is outside the 12-month period for receiving complaints.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s inspections of private housing disrepair since 2021. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman