The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a business premises he rents from the Council and financial losses he has incurred. There is insufficient evidence of fault and if Mr X considers the Council negligent and liable for his financial losses, it is reasonable for him to pursue this through the courts.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council rented him a business property in an unsuitable area. He says this has caused him financial loss and the Council has failed to offer him an alternative property or refund his costs. He wants the Council to find him a different property and either pay his new start up costs or refund him monies he has invested in the current premises.
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) We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X rents a business premises from the Council. He complained the Council should not have rented him the property, as it knew the area was unsuitable for trading due to antisocial behaviour.
In its complaint response, the Council said it had agreed Mr X could end the lease early, when he found another property. It was working with Police to address the antisocial behaviour in the area. It would keep him updated if any suitable Council -owned properties became vacant. It said it would not pay him compensation or reimburse his costs as it did not consider it had been negligent.
We will not investigate this complaint. It was Mr X’s decision to sign the tenancy agreement and so it is unlikely an investigation would find the Council at fault for leasing the premises to Mr X. It has told him it will keep him updated about any suitable properties that become available and will allow him to end the lease early. This is an appropriate response to the concerns he has raised. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.
Only the courts can decide whether the Council has been negligent and is liable for Mr X’s losses and whether it should pay him damages. We could not determine this. If Mr X considers the Council negligent and liable for his losses, it is reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. There is insufficient evidence of fault and if he considers the Council liable for his financial losses, it is reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman