Applications are open to join the next Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel – find out more Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel.

Birmingham City Council (202221579)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221579

Birmingham City Council

21 June 2024


Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration,’ for example, whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice, or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman, and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of:
    1. A leak in the property.
    2. Damp and mould in the property.

Background

  1. The resident was the secure tenant of the landlord, which is a local authority. His tenancy started on 16 December 2019 and ended on 25 June 2023, having moved to an alternative property owned by the landlord. The property was a 2 bedroom flat on the eleventh floor in a block designated as ‘sheltered accommodation.’
  2. The resident instructed solicitors who made a disrepair claim on his behalf. The court issued the claim on 10 December 2021. The particulars attached to the claim asserted that the property had suffered from roof leaks, damp and mould since at least 13 July 2020.
  3. A general form of judgement or order was issued by the court on 6 August 2023. The court ordered that the landlord pay the resident £3000 in “full and final” settlement of the claim. This was to be offset against the resident’s arrears and the remainder paid to the resident’s solicitors within 14 days of the order.
  4. On 2 November 2022 the landlord raised a works order to remedy a leak which was running into the electrics. On 8 November the resident emailed the landlord to say the water was shorting out his electrics. Furthermore, he was also concerned that the property was suffering from damp and mould. The landlord carried out an inspection and in December it raised orders to carry out remedial works. Following a further leak at the property in March 2023 the resident was moved permanently to an alternative property.
  5. The resident made a formal complaint on 8 November 2022 about a leak and ongoing damp and mould. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 8 December. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and made a stage 2 complaint about damp and mould, also on 8 December. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 22 December.
  6. The resident contacted this Service because he remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response. His complaint was accepted for investigation by this service on 13 May 2023.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 41 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion concern matters that are the subject of court proceedings or were the subject of court proceedings where judgement on the merits was given.