Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of works to a path which serves his property and 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. Mr B complains about the Council’s handling of works to a shared path which serves his property and the adjoining property, which is owned and managed by the Council. Mr B says he was not notified about the works which disrupted his family life. Mr B also says the Council wrongly widened the path. Mr B would like the Council to pay him compensation for the disruption his family experienced.

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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 Mr B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr B owns his property. The adjoining property is owned and managed by the Council.
7. The Council undertook these works in its role as the social landlord of the adjoining property. So, Mr 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 improvement works at Council-owned properties.
9. This restriction also applies even if, as with this complaint, the person who has complained is not a Council tenant.
10. This means we cannot investigate the issue Mr B complains about and have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate this complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council as a social landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman