Harlow District Council (20 009 878)

Category : Housing > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 12 Jan 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint that the Council damaged his home when it repaired neighbouring Council-owned properties. This is because the Council did this work in its role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr C, complains the Council caused water damage to his property when it repaired the guttering at neighbouring properties, which are managed by the Council. Mr C says the Council did not engage with him as an adjoining property owner and has still not fixed the problem. Mr C also says the Council did not follow its internal tender process for the repair works. Mr C would like the Council to: repair the guttering; pay him compensation; investigate how it awards contracts for such works; and, commit to engage with neighbours of Council properties when it does repair work.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  2. 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

  1. I have considered Mr C’s complaint form and the supporting information he sent.

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What I found

  1. Mr C complains about several matters relating to the Council’s handling of the guttering repair works to neighbouring Council-owned properties. We cannot investigate any of the matters Mr C complains about. This is because the Council did this work in its role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a local housing authority. This means we have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

  1. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr C’s complaint is about the management of social housing by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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