Summary: The complaint is about the Council reclaiming a ‘right to buy’ discount when Mrs X sold her home. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because Mrs X can go to court.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council did not properly consider her family’s circumstances when it decided to reclaim money when Mrs X sold her home. Mrs X says this has caused financial difficulty and distress.

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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 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

4. I considered the information Mrs X provided and the relevant law. I gave Mrs X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs X and her husband bought their home under the ‘right to buy’ and received a discount. Where someone who has received such a discount sells their home within five years, the Council can reclaim some or all of the discount. (Housing Act 1985, sections 155 and 155A, as amended)
6. Mrs X and her husband sold their home within five years due to a change of circumstances that resulted in them having to leave the area. The Council reclaimed £41,000. Mrs X argues the Council did not properly consider their circumstances when deciding to reclaim this.
7. The law says the county court can decide any dispute about a right to buy matter (except about the valuation of a rented property before it is sold, which is not relevant here). (Housing Act 1985, section 181, as amended) So the restriction in paragraph 3 applies.
8. I have therefore considered whether it would be reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right to go to court. Where the law expressly provides a particular right to go to court, we would normally expect people to do so. The law empowers the county court to decide such matters, which means the Council is entitled to defend itself in court. Also, the large sum of money involved is an argument in favour of going to court, even if there are some costs in doing so. If Mrs X were to be successful in court, she could ask for her costs.
9. I am also mindful that, if the court were to find fault with the Council, it could decide whether Mrs X should repay anything and, if so, how much. The Ombudsman would be unlikely to achieve that. Even if we were to investigate and find fault with how the Council reached its decision (and I do not know if we would find fault), we might ask the Council to reconsider the matter but we would be unlikely to tell the Council what its decision should be.
10. For these reasons, I consider it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right to go to court.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because of Mrs X’s right to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman