The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council wrongly approved defective building work to his home which did not meet the building regulations. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr B seeks.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council wrongly approved plans and issued a building regulations completion certificate for an extension to his property. Mr B says since then there has been movement in the walls and he has recently discovered the foundations do not meet building regulations. Mr B says the Council is responsible for the damage to his property and he would like the Council to pay for the extension to be re-built.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The primary responsibility for building work and compliance with the building regulations rests with building owners and builders. The courts have held that local authorities are not responsible for the costs of putting right defective building work which does not meet the building regulations. This means we would not ask the Council to make a payment which the courts have decided local authorities are not required to pay. So, an investigation would not achieve the outcome Mr B wants.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because an investigation would not achieve the outcome Mr B seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman