The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr D complained the Council has failed to take appropriate action after he reported disrepair issues in his privately rented property. He also says the Council failed to deal with the overcrowding in his property. We do not find the Council was at fault.
The complaint
Mr D complained the Council has failed to take appropriate action after he reported disrepair issues in his privately rented property. He also says the Council has failed to properly deal with the overcrowding in his property. He says the Council’s failures means he has spent an unreasonable amount of time on the housing register.
Mr D says the matter is causing distress for the whole family.
What I have investigated I have investigated Mr D’s complaint from March 2021 onwards. I have not investigated his complaint before this date for the reasons explained at the end of this statement.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information from Mr D. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
Mr D and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Housing health and safety rating system Private landlords are responsible for ensuring that rented accommodation is maintained to a certain standard. This includes carrying out repairs and making sure appliances are safe to use.
Councils have powers to deal with disrepair to privately rented properties. The law says when a council has reason to believe there is serious risk to the health and safety of an occupier it must inspect the property.
The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) is a tool used to help councils identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety.
The HHSRS assesses 29 categories of housing hazard. Each hazard has a weighting system which will help determine whether the property is rated as having category one (serious) or category two (other) hazards.
If the assessment finds a category one hazard, councils have a duty to serve a notice to the landlord to address the hazard. If the assessment finds a category two hazard, councils have discretion about whether to take formal action.
The Council’s housing allocations policy The Council has an allocation policy which details how applicants will be prioritised for social housing.
Applicants who have a high need to move will be placed in Band 2. Applicants who are overcrowded by two bedrooms will be placed in this band.
Applicants who have an urgent need to move will be placed in Band 1. Applicants who are overcrowded by three or more bedrooms will be placed in this band.
What happened Mr D and his family live in privately rented accommodation. The Council previously inspected the property and found they were living in overcrowded conditions. It noted it was a category two hazard under the HHSRS.
Mr D applied for a place on the Council’s housing register. The Council placed him in Band 2 and said he was overcrowded by two bedrooms. It said he was eligible for four bedrooms.
Mr D complained to the Council more recently in July 2021. He said he was living in damp conditions with dangerous structures. He said he wanted a higher banding and he asked for it to reassess the overcrowding.
The Council contacted Mr D’s landlord and said it would inspect the property.
Mr D contacted the Council and asked it to delay the visit as his daughter had COVID-19 symptoms.
The Council rearranged the visit after Mr D’s daughter had recovered.
Mr D contacted the Council and asked it to cancel the visit as his landlord was dealing with the disrepair issues. The Council asked him if he still wanted it to visit to measure the rooms for overcrowding purposes. Mr D said it was not necessary.
Mr D contacted the Council a few months later and complained he was living in unacceptable living conditions. The Council agreed to inspect the property.
The Council issued its final response to Mr D’s complaint in January 2022. It said its previous assessments of his bedroom need was accurate. It said it was sorry it had not made any housing offers. It said it would not consider him for a four-bedroom property as that would not improve his housing situation.
The Council inspected the property under the HHSRS. It found several category one hazards, including a collapsed wall, a broken slab, and overcrowding issues. It served a hazard improvement notice on Mr D’s landlord for the overcrowding issues. It also told the landlord to resolve the other issues by May.
Mr D contacted the Council and said he was confused by its complaint response and why it was not considering him for four bedrooms. The officer explained it would consider him for a four-bedroom property and was unsure why there was different information in the final response.
The Council decided to move Mr D and his family to Band 1 on the housing register because of the category one overcrowding hazard improvement notice.
The Council called Mr D twice in May, but he did not respond. It wrote to him and asked if his landlord had resolved the issues.
The Council offered Mr D a three-bedroom house with a parlour room that he could use as an extra bedroom in June. Mr D declined the property as he said it was too small and in the wrong location.
The Council spoke with Mr D at the end of the month about the property disrepair issues. He said some matters had been resolved, and he did not want another visit because he would be moving soon as he was in Band 1. The Council told him to call back if his intentions changed.
Analysis The Council acted appropriately when Mr D reported the disrepair issues in his privately rented accommodation. It offered to inspect the property in August 2021, but Mr D declined the visit. When Mr D reported the issues again, it inspected the property and wrote to his landlord about the issues. Mr D told the Council in June 2022 that he did not want it to take any further action.
With regards to the overcrowding issues, the Council issued a hazard improvement notice and moved him up to Band 1 on the housing register. It also offered to assess the situation in August 2021, but Mr D said it was not necessary.
Mr D says he has spent an unreasonable amount of time waiting for social housing. The Council has explained a limited number of four-bedroom properties became available in the last 12 months. It must allocate properties in accordance with its housing allocations policy. While I appreciate Mr D’s frustrations, I find no fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault.
Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate The Ombudsman cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done.
Mr D has referred to issues from 2017 in his complaint. He did not refer his complaint to us until March 2022. I am satisfied Mr D could have bought his earlier concerns to us sooner, and therefore I have not exercised discretion to investigate them.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman