Birmingham City Council — case 202110459

REPORT COMPLAINT 202110459 Birmingham City Council 31 March 2022 Our approach What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this. In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint The complaint concerns rewiring works completed in January 2020. Determination (jurisdictional decision) 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. Summary of events On 7 July 2021, the resident submitted a complaint about to the landlord explaining that she was unhappy with the standard of works completed in January 2020.

The resident explained that the property was not left in the state the contractors found it and detailed that she had been unhappy about their conduct at the time. This related specifically to that in her opinion she did not have access to a toilet whilst the works were taking place. The landlord provided a final response to the complaint on 23 July 2021. The landlord explained it could not consider the complaint due to the length of time that had elapsed since the incidents complained about.

It explained that it would be unable to retrieve accurate information or recount reliable versions of events given the lapse of time since the incident occurred. The resident raised the complaint with this service on 4 August 2021 explaining that she was unhappy with the work and conduct of the landlord’s contractors. Reasons Paragraph 39(e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion were not brought to the attention of the member as a formal complaint within a reasonable period which would normally be within 6 months of the matters arising; As set out above, this service has set timescales to bring a complaint for investigation.

We believe it is important that complaints are referred as quickly as possible as it becomes more difficult for both parties to present information and recall events accurately as more time passes since the issue’s occurrence. The Ombudsman considers that six months is a reasonable period of time in which to raise a complaint. The resident complained about incidents which occurred in January 2020, in July 2021; almost eighteen months after the incidents occurred. Should the resident experience any new issues, they should report this to the landlord as a new complaint.

I am therefore satisfied that this is not a complaint which the Ombudsman can consider.