Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about damage caused to his garden which he wants the Council to put right. This complaint relates to the Council’s management of its social housing and so is outside our legal remit.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains Council staff caused damage to his garden when it was clearing the garden next door, ready for new tenants to move in.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.

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What I found

4. Mr X complains Council staff caused damage to his garden when it was clearing the garden next door, ready for new tenants to move in. Mr X says some of his plants were cut back and foilage from next door was dumped in his garden. Mr X wants the damage to his plants to be rectified and the waste foilage to be removed.

Analysis

5. The property next to Mr X’s is a Council owned property used for social housing. The Council’s actions Mr X complains about relate to its management of this property and as per paragraph 2, such matters are outside our legal remit and we cannot therefore investigate.

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Final decision

6. We cannot investigate this complaint as it relates to the Council’s management of its social housing and is therefore outside our legal remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman