The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about changes by the Council to parking arrangements on her estate. This is because the law does not allow us to investigate complaints about the Council’s management of social housing.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains about changes to parking arrangements on her estate.
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 complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says that finding a suitable parking space on her estate is very stressful. She has suffered antisocial behaviour by her neighbours in relation to parking and says she finally found somewhere to park but the Council has now made changes to the layout. As a result she cannot now park where she used to; she says the Council failed to properly consider or consult on the position of some other parking spaces, which are unsuitable and remain unused.
However, because the complaint concerns changes to the parking arrangements on a housing estate by the Council as a registered social housing provider, the exclusion at Paragraph 3 applies. We cannot therefore investigate the matter.
The Council’s final response confirms it is investigating and dealing with Mrs X’s reports of antisocial behaviour and it has provided Mrs X with contact details in case she wishes to pursue this further. If Mrs X believes the Council has not done enough to address her concerns she may raise a new complaint about this issue specifically. She would then need to complete the Council’s complaints process before she could refer the matter to us to consider.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the law does not allow us to investigate complaints about the Council’s management of social housing.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman