The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council failed to properly maintain a beach hut she rents. This is because Mrs X could take the matter to court, and it is reasonable to expect her to do so.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council failed to maintain a beach hut she rents. Mrs X said the beach hut was filled with black mould and was unusable.
Mrs X said the matter caused her frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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.
My assessment
Mrs X rents a beach hut from the Council. In March 2024 Mrs X found the hut was filled with black mould. Mrs X wrote to the Council and complained. The Council cleaned the hut by early May 2024. Mrs X wants the Council to reimburse two months’ rental payments for the time she says she could not use the hut.
In its complaint response to Mrs X, the Council accepted there were some maintenance issues, but said the hut remained usable for the period and said it would not reimburse Mrs X’s fees.
We will not investigate this complaint. There is a simple, low-cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts and I consider it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to take that action. Mrs X’s complaint is, in essence, that the Council has breached its contract with her, which the courts are better placed than the Ombudsman to determine.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has a right to take the matter to the courts, and it is reasonable to expect her to do so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman