Summary: Ms X complained the Council unfairly issued her with an abatement notice and did not follow the correct procedure. Ms X states this caused her financial loss and significant stress. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to accept it now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council unfairly issued her with an abatement notice and did not follow the correct procedure. Ms X states this caused her financial loss and significant stress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Ms X provided and I read the documents provided by the Council. Ms X had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

4. Ms X was the landlord of a privately rented property in Slough. In October 2019 the tenants reported to the Council that the boiler was broken and there was no heating or hot water in the property.
5. The Council issued Ms X an abatement notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 80. The abatement notice required Ms X to have the boiler in the property fixed by a Gas Safe registered engineer within 2 days of the notice. The notice also gave details about how to appeal to the magistrates court within 21 days.
6. The day after the abatement notice was served Ms X emailed the Council stating that she would be appealing against it. Ms X also said she felt the notice had been served in retaliation after she made a complaint about a Council officer. The Council officer forwarded this email to the corporate complaints team.
7. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint with a stage 2 response at the end of October 2019. The Council did not uphold the complaint made by Ms X and reminded her that there was a right of appeal against the abatement notice to the courts. The Council also said that Ms X could refer the matter to us if she was still unhappy with the result.
8. In February 2021 Ms X complained to us about the matter.

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Analysis

9. The restriction outlined in paragraph 2 applies because Ms X complains about a matter she became aware of more than 12 months ago. We have discretion to disapply this rule where we decide there are good reasons. In this case I have decided not to exercise discretion because Ms X has not provided any good reason why she did not complain to us sooner. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to have complained to us within 12 months.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to accept it now.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman