Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about noise because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complains about the Council’s handling of her reports about noise and disturbance from her neighbour’s property. She says the Council failed to take enforcement action against her neighbour, and that she has been unable to remain in her property because of this. Mrs Y says she has suffered distress and anxiety because of the issues.

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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’, 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. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mrs Y and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mrs Y says the noise issues have been ongoing for over 12 years. However, she formally raised this with the Council in December 2023. Part of this complaint is late. We expect a person to come to us within 12 months of being aware of a matter and Mrs Y did not raise a complaint with us until December 2025. I see no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate this complaint beyond the 12 months prior to Mrs Y coming to us. I will therefore only consider matters from December 2024 to December 2025.
9. In December 2024, the Council explained that the matters Mrs Y reported do not fall within its statutory noise nuisance enforcement remit. It based its decision on multiple sources of evidence and information.
10. In 2025, the Council responded to a Mayoral enquiry which contained details of a specialist vibration survey completed at Mrs Y’s property. The Council explained that the vibration levels recorded within the report were significantly lower than those produced by everyday appliances and further confirmed it did not meet the legal criteria for nuisance.
11. I am satisfied that the Council properly investigated Mrs Y’s reports of noise and took relevant steps to address this. It has confirmed the noise Mrs Y reports is not considered a statutory noise nuisance, and therefore it cannot take enforcement action against her neighbour. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.
12. Mrs Y could take independent legal action against her neighbour, under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act, if she wishes.
13. Mrs Y has also complained about the Council’s complaint handling. However, where the Ombudsman has decided not to investigate the substantive issues complained about, we will not usually use public resources to consider more minor matters such as complaint handling.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman