Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to inform the complainants about changes to the Right to Buy discounts. It is reasonable to expect the complainants to use the alternative court remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X and Mrs Y complain they were not informed in advance about the November 2024 changes to the Right to Buy (RtB) discounts, so they missed out on a higher discount by just one day.

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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 information provided by the complainants, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The law allows the county court to decide any dispute about the RtB process (Housing Act 1985, section 181). Mr X and Mrs Y can ask the court to decide if the Council failed to publicise the discount changes properly and whether the Council should apply the previous discount terms to their application. The court can make a binding order. So, the restriction in paragraph 3 applies to this complaint. As the law expressly provides this route for resolving such disputes, we normally expect applicants to use it, with legal advice 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 their home. For these reasons, it is reasonable to expect Mr X and Mrs Y to use their right to go to court.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X and Mrs Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect them to use the alternative court remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman