Summary: Mr X complains roots from a Council owned tree are causing damage to his property. The Ombudsman will not investigate as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the remedy he seeks.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains roots from a Council owned tree are causing damage to his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and background information from the Council.

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What I found

4. Mr X complains roots from a Council owned tree are causing damage to his property. Mr X has reported this to the Council but complains about delay in the Council responding.
5. I contacted the Council about Mr X’s complaint and it has now carried out a site visit.

Analysis

6. The Ombudsman cannot determine whether the Council is legally liable for the damage to Mr X’s property or whether it should carry out a repair/pay compensation. Only the courts can do this. There is a low-cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim through the courts or Mr X could consider using a ‘no win no fee’ solicitor.
7. For these reasons, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action, should the Council not resolve this matter to his satisfaction. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit and we will not investigate.

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Final decision

8. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X can resort to court action for the remedy he seeks and the complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman