Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to evict its tenant from a neighbouring council owned property for noise nuisance. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about social housing tenancy matters. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council’s environmental health team to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about the Council’s failure to evict her neighbour for noise nuisance which she says is a breach of her tenancy conditions. She says she has been subjected to noise nuisance for a number of years and wants the tenant removing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Miss X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response and Miss X has been given the opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

5. Miss X lives next door to a council tenant whom she says has caused noise and disturbance over a number of years. In 2017 the Council obtained an abatement notice against her for playing amplified music unreasonably. The Council says since that time it has not received further complaint information from Miss X which would enable it to take further action in the Magistrates Court.
6. Miss X says she expected the Council’s housing department to take action against its tenant for breaching her tenancy conditions. She feels the only way for the nuisance to end would be for the housing authority to obtain a possession order and evict the tenant.
7. Since April 2013 the Ombudsman has had no authority to investigate social housing landlords in the management of their tenancies. This restriction applies to Miss X’s complaint and we can only consider the involvement of the Council’s Environmental Health services. They have served an abatement notice but would need evidence from Miss X which would enable further action to be taken in the Magistrates Court. The Council says at this stage no recent information has been received which would warrant court action.
8. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. Without evidence of noise which would stand scrutiny in the court the Council cannot take further action on the abatement notice.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about social housing tenancy matters. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council’s environmental health team to warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman