Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council failed to take appropriate action in response to his reports of noise nuisance. This is because part of the complaint is late and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council failed to take appropriate action in response to his reports of noise nuisance. Mr X says council staff have not acted in a “trustworthy and impartial manner.”

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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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.

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What I found

Legal and Administrative Background

7. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, councils have a duty to take reasonable steps to investigate potential ‘statutory nuisances’.
8. There is no fixed point at which something becomes a statutory nuisance. Councils will rely on suitably qualified officers (generally an environmental health officer) to gather evidence. They may, for example, ask the complainant to complete diary sheets, fit noise-monitoring equipment, or undertake site visits. Councils will sometimes offer an ‘out-of-hours’ service for people to contact if a nuisance occurs outside normal working time.
9. Once the evidence-gathering process is complete, the environmental health officer(s) will assess the evidence. They will consider factors such as the timing, duration, and intensity of the alleged nuisance. The officer(s) will use their professional judgement to decide whether a statutory nuisance exists.

What happened

10. Between 2015 and 2019, Mr X made six complaints to the Council about noise from his neighbours. The noises he reported included doors slamming, a dog barking, and a loud television. The Council sent Mr X diary sheets, some of which he returned. The Council also gave Mr X access to a ‘NoiseApp’ system to record the noises he was concerned about. The Council says Mr X did not return any recordings. Mr X says he did, but they could not be accessed due to a problem with the software. The Council considered the information it had and decided there was no evidence of a statutory nuisance.
11. In November 2020, Mr X made a further complaint about a loud television, a dog barking, and a door slamming. The Council again sent Mr X details about the NoiseApp and he submitted recordings. The Council wrote to one of Mr X’s neighbours who explained they did not have a dog. The neighbour said they listen to their television at a reasonable level. The Council listened to the NoiseApp recordings. It could hear “general background living noises” but there was no evidence the Council felt it could use to take formal action.

Assessment

12. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. Mr X’s complaint about the events which took place between 2015 and 2019 is therefore late. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason why Mr X could not have complained much earlier and so the exception at paragraph 3 applies to this part of his complaint.
13. I understand Mr X disagrees with the Council’s assessment of the noise nuisance he reported from November 2020 onwards. But we are not an appeal body for people who disagree with a council’s decision. We can only question a council’s decision if there was fault in the way it was reached.
14. Councils can choose to take informal action if the noise complained about is causing a nuisance, but is not considered a statutory nuisance. The Council tried to resolve the situation by writing to Mr X’s neighbour.
15. Ultimately, it is a matter of professional judgement for the Council’s officers involved as to whether any of the noise reported constitutes a statutory nuisance. As explained above, we can only question the merits of such a decision if there is evidence of fault in the way it was reached.
16. In this case, officers considered the information supplied by Mr X. They reached a professional judgement that the noise reported did not amount to a statutory nuisance, and so further action was not possible or appropriate. The Council explained its decision to Mr X.
17. I know Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision, but that does not mean it was wrong. Based on the evidence available there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council has acted for us to become involved.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because part of the complaint is late and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman