Summary: Mrs X complained the Council caused delays in the Right to Buy process, but said she had to contribute to roof works, and she was not eligible for its energy efficiency scheme as she had started the RTB process. We have discontinued our investigation. This is because Mrs X has rights under the Housing Act 1985 to seek a remedy or action through delay notices and the court. Also, we cannot investigate her concerns about the Council’s decisions in relation to its management of social housing.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complained the Council:
• caused delays in the Right to Buy (RTB) process for her home as her garage had wrongly been sold to another person;
• decided to carry out works to the roof of her block but wrongly expect her to contribute to the costs. She says this is wrong as she is still a tenant and not yet a leaseholder; and
• wrongly decided she is not eligible for its energy efficiency scheme (Green Home Scheme) as she had started the process to purchase her property through the RTB scheme.
2. Mrs X says, as a result, she experienced distress which has impacted her health. She also said she had legal costs and continued to have rental costs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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 and 34D, as amended)
6. 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)
7. 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

8. As part of my investigation, I have:
• considered Mrs X’s complaint and the Council’s responses;
• discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the information she provided; and
• had regard to the law, guidance, and policy guidance relevant to the complaint.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Right to buy

10. The right to buy (RTB) scheme refer to rights granted by the Housing Act 1985 to tenants of social landlords including councils to buy their home at a discount providing they meet the criteria.
11. The is a strict procedure for applications. When a council receives an application form it must:
• issue a decision within four weeks on whether the applicant is eligible under the scheme to purchase their property;
• if the person is eligible, issue an offer for the property within eight weeks for freehold properties and 12 weeks for a leasehold property. The offer should set out the purchase price, the years of the tenancy and the discount applied to it.
• inform the applicant of the service charges payable for the first five years.
12. The sale of a property then follows standard conveyancing for property sales. The Council should send the plans of the property to the applicant’s solicitor, who can then check the accuracy of the title, including property boundaries.
13. In the event there are errors in the property plans, the Council should rectify any mistakes without unnecessary delay.

Delay

14. If a council causes delays of a sale, the applicant can complete and send a ‘notice of delay’ form. A council then must take action within one month or send a counter notice. This has the effect of cancelling the initial delay notice served by the tenant.
15. If a landlord does not serve a counter notice or the deadline for the initial notice has expired, a tenant can service an ‘operative notice of delay’. This can reduce the rent paid while waiting to hear from the landlord.
16. A tenant can bring a claim to the County Court to consider the right to buy process, except for disputes about valuations. The Court can:
• order an injunction which can force the Council to do something or refrain from doing something; and
• issue a declaration as to the tenant’s entitlement.
17. Caselaw has established the Court cannot consider other damages as the Housing Act 1985 already provides a remedy for delay [Francis v Southwark LBC [2011] EWCA Civ 1418].

Green Home Scheme

18. In October 2022 the Council secured funding for a scheme which aims to improve energy efficiency and reduce household energy bills (the Green Home Scheme). Interested applicants had to submit an application form and grants were awarded on a first come first basis.
19. The measures covered in the scheme could include loft and cavity wall insulations, draft proofing, replacing single glazed or older windows.
20. To qualify for the scheme a household’s income must be less than £30,000 and the home energy performance Certificate rating of D, E, G, or G. The scheme was available for council owned housing stock, owner occupiers, and the private sector landlords.
21. The Council as a social landlord progressed applications for its housing stock. Its policy was for all eligible Council properties to benefit from external efficiency works, but any internal works was only available to council tenants.
22. Applications to the scheme closed in 2023.

What happened

23. Mrs X is a tenant of the Council. She applied to the Council in Spring 2021 to purchase her property under the RTB scheme.
24. The Council provided Mrs X with the details about the purchase price for her property. She disputed the price, and the value was determined by the District Valuer.
25. Mrs X submitted the relevant paperwork for the RTB process to the Council in September 2022. The Council accepted the valuation and asked its legal service to progress the purchase.

Mrs X’s Right to Buy complaint

26. In March 2023 Mrs X’s RTB process had not progressed, so she complained to the Council.
27. A month later, the Council realised it did not hold the full freehold ownership to Mrs X’s property. This was because it had sold her garage and garages of other neighbours to a company. The garages were subsequently rented back to tenants, including Mrs X separately to her normal rent payments.
28. The Council told Mrs X it would address the ownership issue to progress her RTB purchase but could not give her more details. It subsequently began discussions with the owner of the garages for the Council to reacquire the ownership.
29. In early 2024 Mrs X’s RTB purchase was still not completed. She asked the Council to escalate her complaint. She said it had been 15 months since she submitted the required paperwork, but the Council had caused delays in realising the ownership issue and to complete the process after it became aware. She asked the Council to explain, pay compensation or reduced the purchase price, and to pay towards her legal costs.
30. In response the Council told Mrs X it could not complete the RTB process until the ownership of her garage was resolved. It explained it was in negotiations with the owner to reacquire the garages but acknowledged its legal services had caused delays when she initially applied due to a backlog of applications. It refused her request for compensation and explained she would need to serve delay notices as set out in the Housing Act 1985, which her solicitor should advise her further about.
31. Mrs X has since served delay notices on the Council.

Mrs X’s roof works and energy efficiency complaint

32. In late 2023 Mrs X contacted the Council about the energy efficiency works for the block she is living in and her flat. She said she had been waiting for the works to start for several months.
33. The Council told Mrs X her flat was excluded from the planned works as private owners were not included, which in line with its policy included properties under the RTB process. It explained if she withdrew from the RTB process she could be put back on the list but said she would benefit from external works to the block regardless.
34. The Council also told Mrs X about roof works to her block, which was outside the Green Home Scheme. It explained it would be issuing her with a Notice of Intention to carry out major works, which she would be required to pay a contribution towards as a leaseholder.
35. Mrs X was unhappy about not benefitting from internal works under the Green Home Scheme and having to contribute toward the roof works. She said she was being treated as a leaseholder and a tenant at the same time, but the RTB process had not been completed due to the Council’s delays.
36. In response the Council told Mrs X she continues to hold the rights and responsibilities as a tenant until the RTB process is completed. It also said when she applied to purchase her home under RTB, it had provided notice about the purchase price including its duty to advise her and all leaseholders and future leaseholders of any major works. This explained she would be required to contribute to the cost of works from the date it received her RTB application. However, if:
• she decided not to complete the RTB process, she would not be liable to contribute towards to roof costs; and
• her RTB purchase is completed, she will be invoiced for her contribution towards the works carried out on the roof.
37. The Council subsequently provided Mrs X with notice of the roof works, which she acknowledged receipt of.
38. Mrs X asked the Ombudsman to consider her complaints about the delay in the RTB process, and the Council treating her as a tenant and a leaseholder at the same time for the purposes of the Green Home Scheme and roof works.

Analysis and findings

39. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her RTB application since September 2022. Part of this complaint is therefore late as it relates to matters which occurred more than 12 months before she brought this to our attention.
40. The evidence shows Mrs X has continued to chase and complain to the Council about its delays in completing the RTB process so she can purchase her property. I have found it is therefore not appropriate to consider her complaint as late.

Delays in the RTB process

41. Mrs X and the Council agrees she is entitled to buy his property through the RTB scheme. It is also agreed the title of Mrs X’s property is wrong as the Council incorrectly sold part of her garage several years ago, which both the Council and Mrs X became aware of after she applied to purchase his property.
42. The issue which remains is the delay which is occurring due to the Council’s inability to complete the RTB process until the title of Mrs X’s property has been corrected. Mrs X’s complaint is therefore about the Council’s delays in the RTB process.
43. I found it is not appropriate for the Ombudsman to consider this part of Mrs X’s complaint further. This is because she has rights through the Housing Act 1985 to:
• serve, or continue to serve, notices of delay on the Council;
• serve operative delay notices, if the Council fails to act or serves a counter notice, which can provide the remedy for the delays she has experienced through a reduction in the purchase price based on her rent payments; and
• apply to the County Court for a declaration of entitlement and an injunction. This can confirm her legal entitlement to purchase her property and land which was incorrectly sold. The Court can also consider an injunction to force the Council to act. This is not a remedy the Ombudsman could achieve.
44. While I understand Mrs X may not have been aware of her rights to serve delay notices and to apply to the County Court, this is a matter I would expect her solicitors to have advised her about.

Works to Mrs X’s property during the RTB process

45. I acknowledge Mrs X’s frustrations the Council is considering her as a tenant and a leaseholder at the same time. This has been since September 2022 when she submitted the required documents for the RTB process.
46. Mrs X remains a tenant of the Council until the RTB process has been completed and she is the owner of her home. However, she is also treated as a future leaseholder as part of the RTB process. This means she is liable to contribute towards costs for major works which the Council decides is necessary for the block she lives in, and it remains responsible for as a social landlord.
47. I cannot consider Mrs X’s concerns about the Council’s handling of the Green Home scheme or the roof works. This is because this part of her complaint relates to the Council’s management of social housing, which is outside our jurisdiction. If Mrs X remains unhappy about the Council’s decision, she can ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to consider this part of her complaint.

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Final decision

I have discontinued my investigation. This is because Mrs X has specific rights through the Housing Act 1985 to seek action and a remedy for the delay in the RTB process and I cannot investigate matters about the Council’s management of its social housing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman