Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council lying to the Courts and wrongly evicting the complainant. This is because the law says we cannot investigate complaints about matters that have been considered in court proceedings. Also we cannot consider complaints about actions the Council has taken as a landlord. Both matters are outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council discriminated against him by lying to the Court about him and wrongly evicted him from his Council home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered in court. We have no discretion to do so. This means we cannot consider complaints about evidence or statements the Council provided to the court.
• We cannot consider the Council’s actions when it acted as his landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman