FOI request (FOIR-602359429)

Private rental properties

Requested Wed 03 April 2024
Responded Fri 10 May 2024

1. The total number of complaints you have received from private renters in each of the last six financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 until the most recent available date).

2. The number of complaints you have received from private renters in each of the last six financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 until the most recent available date) for each of the following reasons:

a. Repairs (that have not been actioned, have not been completed, or have not been completed to a good standard)

b. Illegal eviction (or the threat of)

c. Harassment

d. Dishonest or unfair trading behaviour

3. The number of complaints you have received from private renters in each of the last six financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 until the most recent available date) about letting agencies (or the top ten with the most complaints is fine). Please provide the name of each letting agency, along with the number of complaints.

4. The number of complaints you have received from private renters in each of the last six financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 until the most recent available date) that have been resolved:

a. By the council

b. By the landlord/letting agency

c. Referred to an external body (such as Environmental Health)

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.

Response

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

Please see the attached document which provides the requested information for questions 1, 2, and 4.

3. NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information requested in respect of the coding for this category would require us to manually check each customer records. This would far exceed the time limit set out by the Information Commissioner. S12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000 provides an exemption from the obligation to comply with a request for information if the estimated costs of complying with that request would exceed the prescribed appropriate limit.

We estimate that the costs of complying with your request would exceed the appropriate limit by a significant amount.

For this reason we feel unable to comply with this part of your request.