The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about licensing fees as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council is requiring him to pay fees to re-licence his rental properties. Mr X says his managing agent cancelled the licences without his consent and that he should not be made to pay further fees.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council in its complaint response to Mr X referred him to its licensing scheme which states that no refunds will be paid when licences are revoked. The Council explained the licences were revoked in agreement with the managing agent as per section 93 of the Housing Act 2004, after Mr X dispensed with the services of his managing agent. The Council confirmed therefore that no refund was due. It went on to explain, that as the licences were held by the managing agent, they could not be transferred to Mr X, and if any refund had been due, it would be have to be made to whomever made the application, in this case the managing agent.
I have checked the Council’s policy and the referred to legislation and I cannot see an indication of potential fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s case. In the absence of such fault, we cannot question the merits of the Council’s decision on Mr X’s complaint, and we will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman