Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs Q’s complaint about water coming onto her property from Council-owned land which she says has damaged her home. This is because she may go to court about the matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mrs Q, complained about Test Valley Borough Council. She said it had failed to maintain pipes on land it owns adjacent to her property. She also said the Council had failed to update the pipes to bring them in line with current Building Regulations. Mrs Q said that, as a result, water had come off the Council’s land onto her property for several years and eroded the foundations of her 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. 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 Mrs Q provided. I considered the information the Council provided. I considered Mrs Q’s response to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

5. Mrs Q lives in a property adjacent to Council-owned land. Water has been coming from the Council’s land onto Mrs Q’s property since at least 2014. The Council has investigated the source of the water and laid pipes to drain the water away from Mrs Q’s property. However, the problem continues. Mrs Q said it has not been possible to establish the extent of the damage to her property or what remedial works will be necessary.
6. Mrs Q believes the Council installed the pipes incorrectly and failed to bring them up to current Building Regulations. She also believes her home would be in a better state of repair if the Council had not installed the pipes. Mrs Q said the Council’s fault has resulted in the water eroding the foundations of her home.
7. More recently, Mrs Q’s insurers made a claim for damages to the Council. Its insurers have denied liability for the damage to Mrs Q’s home.
8. Mrs Q said the Council had failed in its duty of care and had never fully investigated the problem or done anything to rectify it. She said she had spent money investigating the cause of the damage to her property and she is seeking significant compensation from the Council.

Analysis

9. We will not investigate this complaint.
10. Mrs Q is, in effect, saying the Council was negligent for failing to properly maintain its land and its pipework. We cannot decide whether a council is negligent or whether it is liable for the damage to Mrs Q’s home. Those are matters for a court to decide. So it would be reasonable for Mrs Q to pursue a claim for damages in the courts now the Council’s insurers have denied liability.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs Q’s complaint because she may go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman