East Lindsey DC (04C12529)

Building control                             Maladministration causing injustice

 7 June 2005

‘Mr and Mrs Lee’ (not their real names for legal reasons) had a bungalow built in 1989. The floors began to collapse in 2002. The Council had carried out inspections under the building regulations but had failed to notice that airbricks of half the specified size had been installed. As a result, condensation had built up in the floor space and the joists supporting the new wooden floor had rotted.

The Ombudsman found maladministration in the Council’s failure to observe that the wrong airbricks had been installed which was therefore in contravention of the building regulations. She recommended that the Council meet one third of the reasonable costs of reconstruction, including professional fees and alternative accommodation while the works were underway. In taking this approach the Ombudsman said: “I am mindful that the Council was not the only agency involved; both Mr and Mrs Lee and their builder were partially responsible for ensuring that the property was properly contracted.” The Council agreed to this recommendation and Mrs Thomas commended it for its readines to settle the complaint.

But the Ombudsman also said, “I have a particular sympathy with Mr and Mrs Lee when they say that they were under a complete misapprehension as to the degree of protection afforded them by the building control system.” So, in addition, the Ombudsman recommended that the Council considered issuing a statement to future applicants for building regulations approval, describing the building control procedure and its legal implications.

Date Updated: 18/02/10