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Camden Council (202109853)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202109853

Camden Council

12 April 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about parking management on their estate.

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.
  2. 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

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord. The resident and their daughter rent two parking spaces from the landlord. The resident complained that the landlord had no process in place to prevent other people from using their parking spaces.
  2. The landlord issued a final response to the resident’s complaint on 31 January 2022, it provided information about its approach to parking and traffic issues and offered to meet the resident on the estate to discuss their concerns further.
  3. The resident referred the complaint to this service on 7 March 2022.
  4. On 4 April 2022, the landlord provided a copy of the resident’s tenancy agreement to this service. The parking spaces are not allocated as part of the resident’s tenancy agreement but under a separate agreement with the landlord.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 36 of the Scheme states that, ‘the person complaining, or on whose behalf a complaint is made must have been, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, adversely affected by those actions or omissions in respect of their application for, or occupation of, property.’
  2. The resident complained about the landlord’s management of parking spaces they rent from it.
  3. This Service has been provided with information that shows the parking spaces do not form part of the resident’s tenancy for their property, but are secured under separate rental agreements with the landlord.
  4. As the complaint does not relate to the occupancy of the resident’s housing, the Ombudsman cannot consider the complaint further. The resident may wish to contact Citizens Advice to discuss the matter further: Citizens Advice
  5. As the parking spaces are provided by a council the complaint may fall under the jurisdiction of the LGSCO: Parking enforcement – Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman