Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr K’s complaint the Council has wrongly and unfairly refused to communicate with him because it concerns the Council’s actions as a registered social landlord.

The complaint

1. Mr K says the Council has wrongly and unfairly refused to communicate with him over complaints about the living conditions of his children and their mother in social housing.

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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 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)
4. The Courts have said we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered what Mr K said in his complaint and discussed it with him by telephone.

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What I found

6. The matters underlying Mr K’s complaint are about the Council’s role as the landlord of the accommodation where his children live with their mother. The Ombudsman cannot investigate those matters.
7. It follows the Ombudsman cannot separately investigate the way the Council has responded to Mr K’s involvement, or its decision not to communicate with him. As Mr K has no other dealings with the Council in his own right, there is no basis for the Ombudsman to consider how it has acted towards him.

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Final decision

The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr K’s complaint because it concerns the Council’s actions as a registered social landlord.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman