Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council allegedly failing to properly cancel improvement notices it issued against Mr X, a landlord. There is not a good reason for the delay in Mr X bringing the matter to us.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to properly cancel improvement notices it issued to him as a landlord, after accepting in early 2022 it had issued them wrongly. He said while the Council refunded his legal costs, the matter has impacted his reputation as the notices remain against his name. He wanted the Council to properly revoke the notices.

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

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My assessment

5. The Council served improvement notices against Mr X in 2020. Mr X says the Council accepted in early 2022 it had been wrong to do so. He says, however, the Council has not properly retracted the notices and that they therefore remain attached to his name and impact his reputation.
6. The law says people must bring matters to us within 12 months of becoming aware. Mr X says he has contacted the Council several times in the intervening period and has made information requests. He could also have contacted us. There is not a good reason Mr X did not escalate the matter to us in 2022. We will not investigate the matter now.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in him complaining to us.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman