Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms A’s complaint about the Council placing a charge on the property when it agreed to fund adaptations through a Disabled Facilities Grant in 2015. This is because there is no evidence of fault with the Council’s actions warranting an Ombudsman investigation. Ms A can ask the court to consider whether she is legally liable for the charge on her land and it would be reasonable for her to do this.

The complaint

1. Ms A says she did not know she would be liable to pay a land charge placed on her property by the Council in 2015. Ms A says her late father, Mr B, signed an agreement for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) in 2015 to the value of £4860 but did not agree to the additional grant of £6290. Ms A says the Council should remove the charge from the land and enable her to sell her property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information and documentation Ms A provided. I sent Ms A a copy of my draft decision and discussed her concerns with her.

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What I found

5. Ms A says the Council should remove the charge it placed on her property in 2015 when the property was owned by her parents. Ms A says her late father did not agree to an additional charge and she only knew of the charge when she tried to sell the property in 2019.
6. Mr B signed the application for a DFG in March 2015. The letter advised Mr B the grant approved was for £4860. It also explains the terms and conditions of the grant and says

as from the date certified by the Council, as the date on which the execution of the eligible work is completed to its satisfaction, the property should be occupied in accordance with the certificate of future occupation given that the time of your application.

7. When works started, it was found additional work was required. A further grant was approved in July 2015 and Mr B was advised of the approval of additional funds totalling £11290 was agreed on 9 September 2015. The letter says the date from which the conditions apply is 2 July 2015.
8. Ms A says Mr B did not sign the updated agreement and says her mother, Mrs B should not be penalised financially, because she had to move out of the home as she could not access the upstairs bathroom. Ms A says if she has to repay the land charge, Mrs B will suffer financial hardship.
9. The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996: Disabled Facilities Grant (Conditions relating to approval or payment of Grant) General Consent 2008The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in exercise of her powers under sections 34(6)(b), 46, 52 and 94 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (“the Act”) gives to all local housing authorities in England the following general consent:

Citation and commencement

This consent may be cited as the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996: Disabled Facilities Grant (Conditions relating to approval or payment of Grant) General Consent 2008 and shall come into force on 22 May 2008.

Interpretation

Words and expressions used in this consent shall, unless the context otherwise requires, take the same meaning that is given to them in the Act.

Consent

3.—(1) Where —

a local housing authority approves an application for a grant under Part 1 of the Act;

the grant is for a sum exceeding £5,000; and

the applicant (“the recipient”) has a qualifying owner’s interest in the premises on which the relevant works are to be carried out,

the local housing authority may impose the conditions (or conditions to like effect) contained in paragraph (2).

(2) The local housing authority may demand the repayment by the recipient of such part of the grant that exceeds £5000 (but may not demand an amount in excess of £10,000) if—

the recipient disposes (whether by sale, assignment, transfer or otherwise) of the premises
in respect of which the grant was given within 10 years of the certified date; and

the local housing authority, having considered—

1. the extent to which the recipient of the grant would suffer financial hardship were he to be required to repay all or any of the grant;
2. whether the disposal of the premises is to enable the recipient of the grant to take up employment, or to change the location of his employment;
3. whether the disposal is made for reasons connected with the physical or mental health or well being of the recipient of the grant or of a disabled occupant of the premises; and
4. whether the disposal is made to enable the recipient of the grant to live with, or near, any person who is disabled or infirm and in need of care, which the recipient of the grant is intending to provide, or who is intending to provide care of which the recipient of the grant is in need by reason of disability or infirmity,
5. is satisfied that it is reasonable in all the circumstances to require the repayment.

10. Ms A has confirmed when her father died in 2017, she inherited his share of the property, however it is not clear why the entire property was transferred to Ms A at the same time. The Council has considered whether the criteria for repayment will inflict hardship on Mrs B, as Ms A suggests, and has decided it will not because she does not live in the property. The Council has explained the circumstances may have been viewed differently, if the property needed to be sold sooner to provide funds for Mrs B. The Ombudsman could not say this is fault. If Ms A disputes she is liable for the charge on her land it would be reasonable for her to ask the court to consider this point.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault with the Council’s actions warranting an Ombudsman investigation. Ms A can ask the court to consider whether she is legally liable for the charge on her land and it would be reasonable for her to do this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman