London Borough of Islington (24 003 742)
Category : Housing > Managing council tenancies
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Jul 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council’s actions delayed the sale of a house he leased to it. It is reasonable for Mr X to take court action if he feels the Council is liable for extra costs he incurred.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council incorrectly advised its tenant to remain in his property after he issued an eviction notice. He said that went against the Council’s policy on housing. He said that advice delayed the sale of his property and meant he incurred additional costs. He wants the Council to reimburse those costs.
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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council. Firstly, any advice the Council gave its tenant is a private matter between the tenant and the Council. That is not something we would investigate from Mr X’s perspective. Secondly, Mr X has a legal agreement with the Council, as he leases his property to the Council for it to use for housing. If Mr X is of the view the Council’s actions have delayed the sale of his property, or it had not kept to that agreement, that would be a matter for the courts.
- There might be some cost to court action, but that does not automatically make it unreasonable to expect someone to go to court. Mr X is letting his property out as a business arrangement, so he might reasonably expect managing this arrangement could sometimes involve some expense and inconvenience. If his legal action were to succeed, he could ask the court for his costs.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is best dealt with by the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman