Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a claim to buy a Council home. This is because it would be reasonable to expect the complainants to use their right to go to court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council acted wrongly in refusing a claim to buy a Council home and in questioning whether her relative Mr Y is living in the property. She states this resulted in their not being able to proceed to buy the property and says they have been caused stress.

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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 Miss X provided and some copy correspondence the Council provided. I shared my draft decision with Miss X and considered her comments on it.

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What I found

5. Miss X, her relative Mr Y and another person jointly applied to buy a Council home. The Council initially accepted the claim, then later refused it as the Council was not satisfied Miss X and the other person were living in the property. The Council said if Mr Y were to apply alone, it could progress that. I understand the Council is also considering whether Mr Y lives in the property.
6. Essentially, this complaint is a dispute about the Council’s decision to refuse the joint applicants’ right to buy. The law (Housing Act 1985, section 181) says the county court can decide any question about the right to buy (except a dispute about a property’s valuation, which is not relevant here). So the restriction in paragraph 3 applies.
7. Where the law gives complainants a specific right to go to court, as is the case here, the Ombudsman normally expects complainants to use that right. The county court has the expertise to consider whether the Council acted properly. The court could overturn the Council’s decision and order Council to give the right to buy if the court sees fit. There might be some concern about the cost of court action but the cost is unlikely to be disproportionately high compared with the benefit the complainants seek, which is to buy the property with the maximum ‘right to buy’ discount.
8. Responding to a draft of this decision, Miss X said she could not find out how to get a court date or go to court. Any court date would only be issued after court action started. Miss X could seek advice from a solicitor, law centre, or advice agency about how to start court action, or she could contact the county court directly to find out about this. This point is not a reason for the Ombudsman to investigate instead of expecting the complainants to go to court.
9. Miss X also said she and the other complainants do not want to waste more money if they have no case. She asked if I thought the complainants had a case. Paragraph 7 above dealt with the possible cost of court action. I cannot comment on whether the complainants have a case. The likelihood of court action succeeding is not a relevant consideration regarding the legal restriction in paragraph 3.
10. Miss X stated Mr Y might have concerns about going to court, as he is vulnerable to COVID-19. I do note this concern. However, the courts, like many other bodies, are adjusting how they operate because of COVID-19. If the complainants took court action, the court could advise on this point. I do not consider this is a strong enough reason for the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint rather than expect the complainants to use their statutory right to go to court.
11. Overall, therefore, I consider it reasonable to expect the complainants to use their right to go to court if they are dissatisfied with the Council’s actions on their right to buy claim.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because of the right to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman