Summary: We have discontinued our investigation into Mrs X’s complaint about the right to buy scheme. This is because, it would be reasonable to expect Mrs X to use the right to go to court about this matter.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to properly inform tenants of the change to the right to buy discount thresholds which came into effect in November 2024. She says she regularly checked the Council’s website, and saw nothing about the change, and had also been in correspondence with the Council for more than a year about her intention to make a right to buy application and it never mentioned the deadline.
2. Mrs X says this has caused her financial distress as she has missed out on a significant discount towards buying her home. She also says this has caused her distress and worry.

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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. 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)
5. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

8. Section 181 Housing Act 1985 provides a right to buy applicant with the right to ask the County Court to determine any question arising under Part V of the Act (all the provisions relating to Right to Buy). 

What happened?

9. Mrs X says she intended to buy her council property in 2024, and she had been discussing this with the Council for around one year. Mrs X said she would have been eligible for a significant discount on the property due to her being a council tenant for many years.
10. In November 2024, the terms on ‘right to buy’ discounts changed, meaning it would now cost Mrs X more to buy her home.
11. Mrs X says the Council did not tell her about the change to the discount and wants the Council to allow her to buy her home under the previous terms.

Findings

12. The law allows the county court to decide any dispute about the ‘right to buy.’ (Housing Act 1985, section 181). Mrs X can ask the court to decide if the Council failed to publicise the discount changes properly and if the Council should apply the previous terms to her application. The court can make a binding order.
13. As the law expressly provides this route for resolving such disputes, we normally expect applicants to use it, with legal advice or representation if necessary. There might be some cost to court action, but that does not automatically make taking court action unreasonable, particularly in the context of a transaction for a valuable asset such as Mrs X's home.
14. For these reasons, I am choosing not to investigate this complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use the right to go to court on this matter. The court is better placed than us to reach a meaningful outcome.

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Decision

15. I have discontinued my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman