The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council delayed the sale of the complainant’s home under the right to buy scheme. This is because it is reasonable to expect her to use the notice of delay procedure, and if needed, take the Council to court.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms A, complained that the Council have delayed completing the sale of her home under the right to buy scheme.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: it would be reasonable for the person to ask for an organisation review or appeal.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Ms A has had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making my final decision.
My assessment
Ms A told us she applied to buy her house under the Council’s right to buy scheme in 2019. She said the council have been very slow in dealing with this. Ms A told us because of this she has lost her mortgage offer, lost fees and incurred additional costs. Ms A wants the Council to reimburse her for the financial losses and to act with urgency in completing her application.
The Council considered Ms A’s complaint. It apologised for the delay and said it was seeking to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
There is a strict procedure with time limits for each stage of the right to buy process. The Housing Act 1985 provides for a Right to Buy applicant to serve a notice on the Council if they consider it is delaying the sale.
If the Council does not reply within a month the tenant can complete a ‘operative notice of delay’ form. Any rent the tenant pays while waiting for the Council’s response can be taken off the sale price.
If a council still does not act on notices of delay, a tenant may take their dispute to the County Court, under section 181 of the act. This section of the Housing Act makes provision for an applicant to ask the Court to decide any issue arising during their application to purchase.
Before deciding whether to investigate a complaint, we must consider what other options are available. We normally expect a purchaser under the right to buy scheme to use the processes and options set out above. It is not unreasonable to expect Ms A to use this process. This is because they are the specific methods parliament provided to deal with right to buy disputes. The courts are in the best position to decide the issues complained about if they remain unresolved.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms A’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to use the notice of delay procedure, and if needed, to take the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman