Mr A complained about the actions/inaction of the Environmental Health Department, the investigation undertaken in respect of his noise complaint and the conclusions of the Stage 2 investigation into these complaints.
The Stage 2 investigation took 13 months to undertake, which was inappropriate. The Environmental Health Department drew up a schedule of work with deadlines for the letting agency to complete however completion was protracted. The Councils Housing Enforcement Procedure does not state at what juncture letting agencies/landlords should be chased and when enforcement action should be considered and/or commenced.
The Council agreed to the following action: a) Within 1 month the Council shall provide Mr A with a meaningful apology for the delay in undertaking a Stage 2 investigation and providing a complaint response.
b) Within 1 month the Council shall pay Mr A the sum of £250 in recognition of the failure identified in complaint handling.
Within 3 months the Council shall revise Section 8 of its Housing Enforcement Procedure to ensure that if there has been non-compliance with a schedule of work by the agreed completion date, active consideration will be given to enforcement action and the rational for the decision to commence or not to commence formal action will be recorded.