Complaints about services for leaseholders
This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who are experiencing problems with the way the council is dealing with issues to do with their leasehold property and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman.
I am unhappy about the way the council is dealing with me as a leaseholder. Can the Ombudsman help me?
- Possibly, although there are some problems you should deal with in other ways. For instance, if you are complaining about the level of charges being passed onto you under the terms of your lease, you have a right of appeal to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal which we would normally expect you to use.
- Leasehold Valuation Tribunals can also settle a range of other disputes such as those about: the cost of extending leases; the landlord’s choice of insurer; the appointment of managers; and the variation of leases.
- Also, if you are complaining about the council not carrying out repairs or failing to fulfil other commitments set out in your lease, we would usually consider that to be a legal matter and advise you to seek advice from a solicitor or a Citizens Advice Bureau. This reflects the fact that your lease is a legal document which the courts have the power to uphold. It may be possible to pursue a claim involving less that £5,000 via the Small Claims Track of the County Court.
- By leaseholder we mean anyone who owns a long lease on a property for which the council is the freeholder, either by exercising their right to buy their council home or by purchasing the lease on a council property from someone else. This does not include tenants who occupy council properties under a tenancy agreement.
- Although there are some problems you should deal with in other ways, there are other matters that we may be able to look at.
How do I complain?
- You should normally complain to the council first. Councils often have more than one stage in their complaints procedure and you will usually have to complete all stages before we will look at your complaint.
- Then, if you are unhappy with the outcome, or the council is taking too long to look into the matter – we think 12 weeks is reasonable – you can complain to us.
- You should normally make your complaint to us within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong.
- To complain to the Ombudsman phone our Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983 (8.30am to 5.00pm, Mondays to Fridays). You will be able to discuss your complaint with one of our advisers. You can text us on 0762 480 4299.
- You can complete an online complaint form at www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint, or you can email us at advice@lgo.org.uk.
If you can consider my complaint what will the Ombudsman look for?
We consider whether the council has done something wrong in the way it went about dealing with you over your leasehold which has caused you problems. Some of the issues we might be able to look at are if the council:
- delayed in returning money to you following a major scheme of repairs where funds were paid up front and there was an excess following completion of the works; or
- failed to deal with problems in the area where you live which are not directly covered by the terms of your lease.
What happens if the Ombudsman finds that the council was at fault?
It depends on what went wrong and how that affected you. If we find that something has gone wrong in the way the council dealt with you over a leasehold problem we can ask it to:
- take action to put the matter right;
- pay compensation for any financial loss; or
- review or improve its procedures to make sure the same problems do not happen in future.
Examples of some complaints we have considered
Mr A complained that the council had failed to deal properly with the handover of his aged parents’ leasehold flat following major structural works to the block in which it was situated, resulting in them incurring additional temporary accommodation costs which the council had refused to refund. Although our investigation did not support all Mr A’s claims about the adequacy of the work to the interior of his parents’ flat, it did reveal that the council had expected his parents to move back in before electrical safety checks had been carried out. The council agreed that this was wrong and therefore offered to refund temporary accommodation costs of over £2,000.
Mr B complained about the level of services charges he was asked to pay for his leasehold maisonette and said the council had failed to repair a vandalised fence. We advised Mr B of his right of appeal to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal over the level of service charges and his right to take legal action if he did not think the council was fulfilling its obligations under the terms of his lease.
Other sources of information
Our fact sheets give some general information about the most common type of complaints we receive but they cannot cover every situation. If you are not sure whether we can look into your complaint, please phone 0300 061 0614.
The Local Government Ombudsmen provide a free, independent and impartial service. We consider complaints about the administrative actions of councils and some other authorities. We cannot question what a council has done simply because someone does not agree with it. If we find something has gone wrong, such as poor service, service failure, delay or bad advice and that a person has suffered as a result the Ombudsmen aim to get it put right by recommending a suitable remedy.
Date Updated: 19/05/10