Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about noise nuisance because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complained the Council failed to properly handle her noise complaints using the out of hours service for a period of approximately five years, between 2020 and 2025.
2. Miss Y says this resulted in the service being inefficient as the officer involved was unable to witness the noise she had complained about.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. The law says people should normally complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of an issue. Complaints brought to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after someone becomes aware of something a council has done are considered late. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons.
8. Miss Y has asked us to consider the handling of various investigations into anti-social behaviour and noise complaints dating back to 2020. She approached us in September 2025. Miss Y’s was aware of her reason to complain about the Council’s actions when originally made a noise complaint in 2020, more than 12 months before she came to us. Consequently, her complaint about the Council’s response to her noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour complaints between 2020 and 2023 is now late.
9. We have discretion to disapply the rule outlined in paragraph four where we decide there are good reasons. Miss Y has not provided any good reasons why she did not bring her complaint to us within 12 months of knowing about the matter. It is reasonable to expect her to have complained sooner.
10. However, Miss Y did bring her complaint about the Council’s response to her out of hours request about an alleged noise nuisance from September 2024 to us within 12 months, so this is within our timescales to consider.
11. The Council’s complaint response outlines the actions it took between July and August 2024, after Miss Y had made a complaint about noise from a dog barking. It shows the Council carried out site visits on two occasions, Miss Y was sent diary sheets to complete and that while Miss Y sent noise recordings, as these were outside of her property and not inside, explained why these were insufficient to act from. It also explained that the noise nuisance was not witnessed by any of its officers when site visits were made.
12. This is in line with the council’s process for noise nuisance complaints. It shows that the Council took action to respond to Miss Y’s complaints but when the officers arrived the noise had stopped. For one visit this was within 25 minutes and on another occasion when a visit was offered this was later cancelled by Miss Y as the noise had stopped. While Miss Y may be unhappy that the Council was unable to accept her recordings and was unable to witness the nuisance she had complained about, as it acted in line with its process to try to gather evidence of the nuisance, there is not enough evidence of fault in its response to her noise complaint to justify investigation. We will not investigate this complaint.
13. Miss Y has also complained about the Council’s actions in response to a noise complaint she says she has experienced since April 2025. The evidence provided to us does not show that this has been raised as a complaint with the Council at this stage and therefore we will not investigate this complaint. It is for Miss Y to approach the Council further if she wishes to raise this as an issue to be considered by it for investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman