Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s charges for a selective licence for a private landlord. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council refusing to allow her early payment discount for a selective licence which she believes she should have been eligible for. She wants the Council to waive an outstanding amount on her licence payment because of its failure to properly inform her about the charge.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X is a private landlord and a property which she rents to tenants is within a selective licensing zone which requires a licence. Her existing licence expired in May 2023 and she says she applied for a new licence in the early discount period for the zone which her property is located. She was subsequently told by the Council that she did not qualify for the discount because her property is not in the designated zone which she believed it to be in. eligibility for that zone ended in 2022 and she did not make the final application payment until January 2024.
6. Ms X says she believed a general email and the Council’s website was misleading about which zone her property was in. the Council says the advice given to all landlords for whom it had contact details reminded them to obtain a licence or risk prosecution, it did not specify which area any property was in but included an interactive map which identified property by address and postcode.
7. I have used the online map and it confirms that Ms X’s property is in the zone which had discounts ending in May 2022. The onus is on landlords to ensure that they have a valid licence for their properties and that they are aware of the renewal requirements. Ms X or her managing agents could have identified the zoning for her property from 2022 and before her licence expired in 2023.
8. Ms X has so far paid the discounted amount but she is not eligible for the discount which is why the Council sent her an invoice for a further £270. She has asked them to waive this charge for the unclear advice given to her but there is no evidence to suggest she should be exempt from the payment.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s charges for a selective licence for a private landlord. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman