Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to issue an improvement notice or take formal action against her landlord when they started action to evict her. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s lack of action when she reported disrepair in her private rented property. She said the Council failed to protect her from an unscrupulous landlord, who subsequently started eviction action.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

7. In 2023 Ms X reported disrepair in her private rented property. The Council decided formal action was not needed. Ms X was unhappy and complained. In its complaint responses in May and July 2023, the Council explained it had a duty to act if it identified category 1 hazards in the property. It had not done so, which meant it had no grounds to issue an improvement notice.
8. Ms X said her landlord then served her with a section 21 notice requiring her to leave the property and started court action to evict her. She complained the Council was biased towards the landlord because it did not take formal action to address what she said was a retaliatory eviction.
9. In response, the Council explained a landlord cannot issue a section 21 notice within six months of being issued with an improvement notice or an emergency remedial action notice. That was not the situation in Ms X’s case so it was not in a position to take formal action under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
10. In 2024, Ms X reported further disrepair. She said the landlord had covered up a leak in 2021 and that a faulty fridge had caused an electric shock. The managing agent said they were arranging for a plumber to inspect. There is a dispute about whether it did so and also about whether Ms X allowed access to the property for the inspection. Ms X also complained the managing agent would not reimburse her if she instructed her own plumber to inspect.
11. The Council considered the matter but decided there were no grounds for it to intervene. It said Ms X should allow a reasonable time for the landlord or their agent to address disrepair and should allow appropriate access. Ms X complained the landlord had not addressed the disrepair between June and September 2024 and the Council had failed to act. I understand there was a possession hearing in late September 2024 but am not aware of the outcome. Ms X says the Council has not responded to the formal complaint. The Council told her it had nothing to add to the emails it had already sent.

My assessment

12. Ms X complained to us in November 2024 about events going back three years. We would usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events complained about. The Council issued its final complaint response and signposted to us in July 2023. I have seen no evidence that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner. Her complaints about the period prior to November 2023 are late and there are no grounds for investigating now.
13. In any case, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Councils actions in 2023 and 2024 to justify our involvement. Councils are not obliged to act as a referee in disputes between landlords and tenants. Councils are only required to take formal action if there are category 1 hazards in the property, which means matters causing a serious risk to the occupant’s health and safety. The Council has assessed whether there are category 1 hazards and decided there are not. It is therefore not required to take formal action. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it decided this to justify further investigation.
14. The Council has explained why the landlord’s serving of a section 21 notice does not meet the criteria for a retaliatory eviction and therefore why it has not taken enforcement action against the landlord about that. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it considered this to justify further investigation.
15. The Council has not considered the recent complaint through its complaints process, although it has responded to earlier emails about the same matter. We do not investigate complaints handling unless we are also investigating the underlying complaint. Therefore, we will not consider this aspect further.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman