The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with disrepair issues in Mr X’s private rented accommodation. This is because it is a late complaint and there is no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complaints the Council failed to take action against his landlord for disrepair in his private rented accommodation. Mr X says the Council’s failure to deal with the disrepair caused him significant distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council about disrepair in his flat in 2016. The Council visited and asked the landlord to carry out some work to the property. The Council closed the complaint later in 2016. Mr X left the flat in 2019.
Mr X did not complain to the Ombudsman until January 2022. Therefore this is a late complaint. Mr X has said the Council would not respond to his complaints about what happened. However this does not account for the fact it took Mr X over 5 years to complaint about what happened. There is no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. Therefore we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is a late complaint and there is no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman