Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about information provided by the Council during her application to buy her home. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating and we cannot achieve the outcome requested.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council led her to believe she would be entitled to a ‘lifetime discount’ with respect to her home purchase under the ‘right to buy’ process.
2. She says her mental health has been affected adversely when she found out about changes to the discount. Ms X would like the Council to keep her application open or give her indefinite time to seek a mortgage.

Back to top

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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Miss X applied to purchase her council property. She complained to the Council just before she had accepted the Council’s offer notice. Her complaint was that she had been given misleading information about the discount. (While Miss X was applying to purchase her property, the government changed the discount rules although this did not affect Miss X’s application).
7. The Council investigated her complaint at stage one of its complaints procedure. It did not find any Council officer had misled her. It highlighted official documents and government website links she was given. The Council said it could not justify giving her any indefinite extra time to complete her home purchase as it had already exceeded the legal deadlines. However, it gave her a week’s extra time to complete at the final offer stage.
8. At the final stage of the Council’s complaint stage, its response noted Miss X had completed her application. It reiterated there was no evidence it has acted with fault. I presume this did not go ahead as Moss X complained to our service.
9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify investigating. The Council appears to have provided the necessary official information including links to the government website as appropriate. The changes to the discount were due to new government guidance so the Council cannot be held responsible for this. And we cannot achieve the outcome requested in terms of asking the Council to give Miss X more time to find a mortgage provider as the Council has to adhere to legal deadlines built into the right to buy process.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating and we cannot achieve the outcome requested.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman