Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council not removing a tree outside her property or the way it has responded to her since 2014. This is because most of Miss X’s complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for her to raise within 12 months of becoming aware. With respect to more recent matters, the crux of Miss X’s complaint boils down to a dispute between her and the Council about legal liability for damage to her property. Therefore, it would be reasonable for her to make a liability claim to the Council’s insurer, then to court if required. We do not investigate councils’ correspondence and complaint handling where we are not investigating the main issue at the heart of the complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X says she is raising a long running complaint starting from 2014 concerning the Council’s failure to remove a tree that is causing damage to her property, blocks light and poses a safety risk. She also says the Council has not handled her concerns properly.
2. As outcomes, Miss X would like remedial repairs to be carried out to her property and the dropped kerb plus a financial remedy.

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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
4. 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

5. I considered information from Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We will not consider historic issues occurring from 2014 and 2024. This element of the complaint is caught by the time bar on the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. It would have been reasonable for Miss X to raise her complaint to us earlier instead of letting almost ten years to elapse.
7. Turning to more recent matters, the complaint information shows that Miss X asked for the tree to be removed in 2024. The Council refused saying it considered the tree was in good condition and making a ‘valuable contribution to the street scene and the wider area’. Instead, it said it would arrange for it to be pruned back.
8. We will not investigate. This is because Miss X’s complaint is essentially a dispute about legal liability for claimed property damage. We cannot decide liability in property damage claims. Only insurers and the courts can do this. Miss X’s allegations of damage would be a claim she could first raise with the Council’s insurers and then, if that process does not resolve her claim to her satisfaction, for her to put before a court. It would be reasonable for her to pursue this route to get the liability finding and outcome she seeks if the Council’s insurers do not agree her claim. This is because the courts have the relevant expertise and standing to make legal liability decisions, and those decisions are binding on all parties, unlike ours which may only make recommendations to councils.
9. We do not investigate side issues such as councils’ contact and correspondence with a complainant where we are not also investigating the main issue at the heart of the complaint. This is because it is not a good use of public funds. This principle applies here so we will not investigate this aspect of the complaint either.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint for two main reasons. Firstly, matters from 2014 - 2024 are caught by the time bar on the Ombudsman’s powers and there are no good reasons for Miss X not complaining to us earlier. And secondly, it would be reasonable to expect Miss X to make a liability claim for the property damage to the Council’s insurer, then to court. Finally, we do not investigate side issues such as the councils contact when we are not looking at the main issues at the heart of the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman