Summary: A Council leaseholder complained the Council had overcharged him for works to his flats. But the Ombudsman cannot investigate this matter. This is because the law prevents us from considering complaints about the Council’s actions in managing its leasehold properties.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complained the Council had overcharged him for major works it carried out at blocks of flats where he had two leasehold properties. Mr B also complained that the formula the Council used to calculate his share of the costs was unfair, the quality of the works was poor, and its workers had caused damage.

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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. In particular we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of housing let on a long lease by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5B, schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mr B provided with his complaint and his comments in response to a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

4. Mr B is the leaseholder of two flats for which the Council owns the freehold.
5. Under the leases, the Council has responsibility for carrying out certain repairs and discretion to fund improvements to the properties. The Council can recover the cost of those works from leaseholders though their annual service charges. Where works affect all flats in a block the costs are apportioned between the leaseholders according to a set formula.
6. In recent years the Council carried out major works to the blocks where Mr B’s flats are situated. It subsequently billed him for his share of the costs of these works.
7. But Mr B was unhappy about the amount he was asked to pay and said he could not afford it. Mr B said the Council was overcharging for the work and he could have arranged for this to be done for a much lower price.
8. Mr B also complained about the poor standard of workmanship, and that one of his flats had been damaged by the Council’s workers.

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Analysis

9. However we cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint.
10. In particular, from the information provided it is evident that Mr B’s complaint is about the Council’s leasehold management service. But we no longer have power to investigate complaints about councils when they are acting as managers of properties let on a long lease.
11. This follows a change in the law in April 2013 which transferred authority for dealing with most complaints about council tenancy and leasehold management to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
12. In the circumstances I consider that we are prevented by law from investigating Mr B’s complaint.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council had overcharged him for works it carried out to his leasehold properties. This is because our jurisdiction does not cover complaints about what the Council does when it is acting in a leasehold management role.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman