Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions following Ms X’s application to sell her discounted market sale property. We cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants. This is because the courts are better placed to consider the matter.

The complaint

1. Several years ago, Ms X purchased a property through the Council’s Shared Equity Scheme (previously known as Discount Market Sale). Under this Scheme, Ms X bought a new-build property at a percentage of its market value. This meant, when selling the property in the future, Ms X would receive the same percentage of its market value back, ensuring the home remains affordable for the next buyer.
2. Ms X complains, when she later sold the property in 2023, the Council:
1. incorrectly told her she owned a higher percentage of the property than originally stated (23.75% instead of 17.95%); and,
2. overvalued the property when she originally bought it in 2015 because the Council relied on a valuation that did not comply with the standards of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
3. Ms X complains, because of the above, she lost almost £30,000. She complains about the Council’s handling of the matter, including poor communication and a failure to acknowledge the personal and financial impact.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. It is not our role to investigate legal disputes and we cannot award compensation. These are matters for the courts. The courts are better placed to interpret the original legal agreement with the Council and consider whether the Council is financially liable for any loss incurred. It is open to Ms X to seek independent legal advice around this if she wishes to pursue legal action against the Council. Ms X wants to be compensated for the alleged financial loss arising from the dispute over the terms of the deed of covenant, as well as the impact of the difference between the original valuation of the property and the reduced valuation when it was sold. This amounts to almost £30,000. Only the courts can decide whether to award Ms X compensation. This is not an outcome we can achieve. For these reasons, we will not investigate Ms X’s complaint.
9. We will not investigate how the Council communicated with Ms X or how it handled her complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate the Council’s handling of the matter alone when we are not considering the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions following Ms X’s application to sell her discounted market sale property. We cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants. This is because the courts are better placed to consider the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman