The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about action the Council took about disrepair at a rental property as Ms X had the right to challenge it via an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal.
The complaint
Ms X complained the Council issued her with a financial penalty after it said she failed to comply with an Improvement Notice which required repairs to be carried out at a rental property. Ms X says she is not the person responsible for the property and seeks a refund of the money she paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued Ms X with a notice to pay a penalty after it says she failed to comply with an Improvement Notice it had previously served on her. Both notices were issued under the Housing Act 2004. The financial penalty notice explained that Ms X had the right to appeal against it to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The is the statutory appeal procedure provided in law and it is reasonable to expect Ms X to have followed it. As such, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to have appealed against the financial penalty to the First Tier Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman