Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the complainant’s right to buy applications, and disrepair at her property. This is because: there is another body better placed to consider any valuation dispute; it is reasonable to expect the complainant to use, or have used, the alternative court remedy; the law says we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing; and we will not reconsider matters looked at under a previous complaint to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has acted unfairly and contrary to good practice in its handling of her right to buy (RtB) applications, and long-standing disrepair at her property.

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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. We can 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (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)
5. And 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

6. I considered:
• information provided by Mrs X, which includes the Council’s complaint responses.
• the Ombudsman’s decision on a previous complaint from Mrs X, about her first RtB application.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint for the following reasons.

Valuation

8. If Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s valuation of her home, she had a right of appeal to the District Valuer. Unlike the Ombudsman, the District Valuer has the expertise to resolve disagreements about a valuation, and has the power to make a binding decision. We therefore consider the District Valuer was better placed to consider any parts of the complaint about the valuation of the property.

Delay

9. There is a strict procedure with time limits for each stage of the RtB process. The procedure provides for an applicant to serve a ‘notice of delay’ on the Council if they consider it is delaying the sale.
10. The Council must either move along the sale or send a counter notice to the tenant explaining what action it has taken or explain why it cannot progress the sale. If the Council does not reply within a month, the tenant can complete a ‘operative notice of delay’ form. Any rent the tenant pays while waiting for the Council’s response can be taken off the sale price.
11. If a Council still does not act on notices of delay, a tenant may take their dispute to the County Court, under section 181 of the Housing Act. This makes provision for an applicant to ask the Court to decide any issue/disputes arising during their application to purchase.
12. As the law expressly provides this route for applicants to resolve disputes about delay, we normally expect people to use it. I consider it was reasonable for Mrs X to have used the notice of delay process if she was unhappy with any delay in the progression of her second RtB application.

Discount

13. Similarly, if Mrs X disagrees with the discount applied to her second application, it is open to her to ask the county court to consider the matter. I consider it reasonable to expect Mrs X to use this alternative court remedy.

Disrepair

14. We also have no power to consider any parts of the complaint about disrepair at the property. This is because the law says we cannot investigate any complaint about a council acting as a landlord and carrying out its housing management functions.

Previous complaint

15. For the avoidance of doubt, the Ombudsman does not reconsider complaints which we have already determined. So, we will not investigate any parts of this new complaint which are about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s first RtB application.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint for the reasons detailed above.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman