Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a social housing landlord in a dispute between Mr X and his neighbour who is a tenant. We cannot investigate the actions of social housing landlords in the management of their estates. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s response to his complaints about noise nuisance and its investigations are ongoing.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the failure of the Council to resolve his complaint about a neighbour who is a housing association tenant. He says he has been subject to anti-social behaviour for many years and that the response of the housing association staff has been ineffective.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says his neighbour has carried out acts of anti-social behaviour for a number of years. More recently he has dug a deep trench on the property boundary, encroached on his land and caused nuisance from hedge cutting and loud music.
7. He says he has complained to the Council and the housing association landlord but there has been no effective action. The Council has carried out noise monitoring and asked him to keep diaries of incidents, but it has taken no action as a result.
8. We cannot investigate complaints about social housing management of property or their tenants. We have no discretion to consider such complaints. The Council can investigate complaints about noise nuisance, and it is currently undertaking such investigation. However, it has said that so far there has been no evidence of statutory nuisance on which it could serve an abatement notice.
9. Mr X says the Council has not activated the Community Trigger which is a procedure for dealing with nuisance from a specific site which affects multiple complainants or generates multiple complaints. To do this the activity must meet certain criteria which the Council has set out. It says that to date any threats which Mr X has reported have been dealt with by the Police and that authority has given him advice.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a social housing landlord in a dispute between Mr X and his neighbour who is a tenant. We cannot investigate the actions of social housing landlords in the management of their estates. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s response to his complaints about noise nuisance and its investigations are ongoing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman