The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not responded properly to reports of anti-social behaviour by one of its tenants. This is because the law prevents us from considering complaints about councils when they are acting in their role as social housing landlords.
The complaint
The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complained that the Council had not taken enough action in response to his reports about anti-social behaviour (ASB) by his next-door neighbours, who are tenants of the Council.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. In particular the law says we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. [Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5.5 (as amended)]
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information Mr B provided with his complaint. I also took account of the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I consider that we cannot investigate Mr B's complaint because we do not have any power to investigate complaints about councils when they are carrying out their function as landlords of their housing properties. This follows a change in the law in April 2013 when responsibility for dealing with most complaints about the management of council housing was transferred to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
In Mr B’s case it is clear that all his contacts with the Council about the ASB have been with housing management staff, and it is the housing management service which has had responsibility for dealing with the matter.
In the circumstances I consider the legal restriction on us investigating complaints about council housing management applies to Mr B's complaint.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr B's complaint that the Council had not done enough in response to his reports of ASB by his neighbours. This is because we are precluded by law from pursuing complaints about councils acting in their capacity as social housing landlords.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman