The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s advice regarding building regulations compliance. This is because this is a late complaint and there is no reason why Mr X could not have complained sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council gave him misleading advice regarding building regulation compliance. Mr X says that as a result of this and other matters he took legal action against his builder which cost him a significant amount in legal fees.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued Mr X with a completion certificate in June 2020 saying that building regulations had been complied with. Prior to this, in May 2020 it advised him that earlier advice it had given him about part of the building work may have been incorrect.
Mr X did not complaint to the Ombudsman about this matter until July 2022. Therefore this is a late complaint. There is no reason why Mr X could not have raised his complaint sooner and he was aware of the matter he is complaining about in May 2020.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is a late complaint and there is no reason why Mr X could not have come to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman