Summary: We cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council is taking too long to cut back nuisance trees at her Council-owned property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.

The complaint

1. Miss B, who is a Council tenant, complains the Council is taking too long to cut back trees in her garden which are causing a nuisance. Miss B says the Council’s mishandling of this issue has caused her a lot of stress and inconvenience.

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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. The Act says 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss B’s complaint is about the Council’s management of her property in its role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints about the maintenance of property buildings and gardens by a council.
7. This means we cannot investigate this complaint and have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council as a social landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman