Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint that her property is being damaged by a water leak at a Council-owned property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains her property is being damaged because of the Council’s failure to fix a water leak at the adjoining property, which is owned by the Council. Mrs B would like the Council to fix the problem and either repair or pay for the repairs to her property.

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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.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs B owns her property. The adjoining property is owned by the Council.
7. Mrs B’s complaint is about the Council’s management of the adjoining property in its role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.
8. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints about the handling of maintenance and disrepair issues at Council-owned properties. This restriction also applies even if, as with this complaint, the person who has complained is not a Council tenant.
9. This means we cannot investigate the issue Mrs B complains about and have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman