Summary: There is no evidence of fault by the Council. The Council had no reason to prevent the neighbours buying their Council property and did not receive any complaints about anti-social behaviour during the period the Ombudsman can investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, is represented by his daughter, Miss Y. Miss Y complains the Council sold the neighbouring property to its Council tenant without carrying out the correct checks.
2. Miss Y also complains about the Council’s response to complaints about anti social behaviour from Mr X’s neighbour.

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What I have and have not investigated

3. I have investigated the complaints about the sale of the neighbouring property.
4. I have also investigated the complaint that the Council has not responded to complaints about neighbours anti-social behaviour (ASB) since March/April 2022 according to its procedure.
5. I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaints about the Council’s response to complaints about ASB when the neighbours were Council tenants. I can investigate councils’ handling of any aspect of ASB, except in the execution of its duties as a social housing provider. Therefore, if a person complains a council has (for example) failed to evict a council tenant for causing ASB, we cannot investigate this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. I 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)
7. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
8. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

9. I read the papers put in by Miss Y and discussed the complaint with her.
10. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
11. Miss Y and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Right to Buy

12. Miss Y complains the Council sold the neighbouring property to its Council tenant without carrying out the correct checks.
13. The right to buy laws say that a Council tenants right to buy can only be stopped if the neighbours tenancy was demoted. i.e. changed from a secure tenancy. The Council has said that Mr X’s neighbour had a secure tenancy and so I cannot find fault on this point.

Anti-Social behaviour after March 2022

14. The Council has said they received no new complaints about ASB from Mr X after March 2022 and the case was closed in April 2022. So, I can find no fault on this point, as there is no evidence the Council received complaints it could respond to.

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Final decision

15. I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint is not upheld.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman