The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing a home loss payment. The complaint is about interpretation of the law, which is properly for the courts.
The complaint
The Council plans to buy and demolish the property of which Ms X is a private tenant. Ms X complains the Council will not give her a home loss or disturbance payment. Ms X says the lack of a payment will worsen the difficulty of having to leave her home.
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 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 and copy complaint correspondence from the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
This complaint turns on interpretation of the law. Ms X says her legal advice is the relevant legal provisions, including under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and Land Compensation Act 1973, entitle her to a home loss or disturbance payment. The Council says those terms do not apply to her circumstances, as her tenancy is likely to end before the Council buys the property. Each party has given reasons for their position.
The restriction in paragraph 2 applies because Ms X could ask a court to decide if the Council needs to pay her compensation. It would be reasonable for Ms X to do this because it is not the Ombudsman’s role to choose between competing interpretations of the law where the law’s meaning in a particular situation is disputed. Interpreting the law is properly the role of the courts. I appreciate there is a potential cost to court action, but that does not in itself mean the Ombudsman should investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because interpretation of the law is a matter for the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman