Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the application date used by the Council when deciding the complainant’s Right to Buy application. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating, and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to use the alternative court remedy available to her.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained a Council officer gave her inaccurate information when she enquired about buying her Council property the day before the law changed, which reduced the maximum discount a person could be granted.
2. Miss X said the inaccurate advice meant that she sent her application after 21 November 2024. Miss X believes she is entitled to the higher rate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. The law also 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 provided by Miss X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X contacted the Council on 20 November 2024 to enquire about buying her council property. The Council told Miss X because of her circumstances at that point, in relation to her tenancy, she could not apply.
8. The following day the law changed, reducing the maximum discount for Right to Buy applicants.
9. Miss X then applied for the Right to Buy her property after this. The Council agreed the application from this date, if Miss X addressed her tenancy related issues, within 28 days of the agreement.
10. Miss X complained to the Council about its decision not to apply the discount from before 21 November 2024. The Council told Miss X that it would apply discount from the date of the application. The Council accepted that Miss X had received partially wrong information from it beforehand. Miss X said this meant she missed an opportunity to submit her application in and potentially achieve a higher discount.
11. We will not investigate this complaint. Information about the law change was publicly and widely available, the Council accepted fault and apologised, and we cannot direct how the Council uses its resources. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating. We could not direct the Council to act contrary to what the law says in terms of discount it should now apply. Additionally, we could not say on balance whether Miss X’s application would have been successful had she applied before the deadline and what the outcome of that would be.
12. Also, the Housing Act 1985 carries a provision for Right to Buy applicants who wish to challenge any matters arising during the process in the County Court. As detailed in paragraph 4 above, if Miss X believes she has grounds to challenge the application date used by the Council, the Ombudsman would normally consider it reasonable to expect her to use this alternative court remedy.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating, and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to use the alternative court remedy available to her.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman