Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about repair issues at a Council property as it is not within our legal remit. We will not investigate the associated complaint about the right to buy the property as the complaint is made late and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant seeks

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about longstanding issues with damp and mould at her home which is a Council owned property. Mrs X complains the Council has failed to address these issues and that as such, she has been unable to proceed with the purchase of the property under the Right to Buy (RTB) scheme and has missed out on a large discount on the purchase price because of this. Mrs X says her and her family’s health has been affected by the damp/mould. Mrs X wants compensation for this and for the loss of the RTB discount.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate the Council’s response to repair issues at Mrs X’s home as this is not within our legal remit, as per paragraph three. This is a matter for another body, the Housing Ombudsman.
8. Mrs X complains she made two RTB applications in 2020 and 2022 but felt she could not proceed due to the condition of the property. As Mrs X did not complain to us until December 2025, this complaint is made late, that is, not within a year of Mrs X knowing about the problem. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us sooner, and within a year, and so I do not consider there are good reasons to investigate this late complaint now.
9. I recognise that Mrs X felt she could not go ahead with her RTB applications, but had she considered the Council’s valuation was too high given the condition of the property, she would have had the right, at the time, to ask for an independent valuation from the Valuation Office Agency. This is the procedure provided in law and we are not empowered to make such decisions.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about disrepair at her home as this is not within our legal remit. Mrs X’s complaint about her RTB applications is made late and we will not investigate as there are not good reasons to do so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman