East Riding of Yorkshire Council (26 003 663)
Category : Housing > Council house sales and leaseholders
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a delayed right to buy sale. This is because there is a statutory delay procedure open to Miss X and ultimately Miss X can ask the court to make a ruling on her case.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council has delayed progressing her right to buy (RTB) application and is not providing any completion date for the sale. Miss X says she has been impacted financially and emotionally.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The law provides a procedure whereby an applicant can challenge RTB delays which can result in rent payments being deducted from the final sale price. This is the procedure provided in law and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to use it
- Ultimately, Miss X could resort to court action to seek a ruling on the dispute in her case. Section 181 of the Housing Act 1985 provides a RTB applicant with the right to ask the county court to determine any question arising under Part V of the Act (all the provisions relating to RTB). The restriction in paragraph three therefore applies to this complaint.
- As the law expressly provides this route for resolving such disputes, we would normally expect RTB applicants to use it, with legal advice if necessary. There might be some cost to court action, but that alone does not automatically make taking such action unreasonable, particularly in the context of a house purchase. The court would provide a formal legal ruling which we are not empowered to do.
- For these reasons, ultimately it is reasonable to expect Mr X to use her right to go to court and we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is a delay procedure available to her in law and it is reasonable to expect her to ultimately take court action, if needed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman