The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint that the Council has failed to repair structural defects at a property it owns. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord.
The complaint
Mr C says his home is being damaged due to the Council’s failure to repair structural defects at the adjoining property, which is owned by the Council.
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 Mr C.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr C owns his property. The adjoining property is owned and managed by the Council.
Mr C’s complaint about disrepair at the adjoining property is about the Council’s management of this property as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints about an alleged failure by a council to maintain one of its properties.
This restriction also applies even if, as with this complaint, the person who has complained owns their property and is not a Council tenant.
This means we cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint and have no discretion to start an investigation.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman