Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to process a request to purchase a freehold of a property. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about the management of housing let on a long lease by a Council that is a registered social housing provider.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council has failed to process his request to purchase the freehold to his property for four years now.
2. Mr X says he needs this done because the ground rent charged by the property developer has increased.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of housing let on a long lease by a council that is a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5B, schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council holds the freehold to the property and the developer holds a head lease on the site. Both the Council and the developer are registered social landlords.
8. Mr X holds a shared ownership lease from the developer. It is unlikely the Council could sell Mr X the freehold he wants because it is subject to the head lease and is social housing as defined in law. If Mr X wishes to pursue this, he is likely to need legal advice and resort to court action, but the Ombudsman cannot help him.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot by law investigate complaints about the management of social housing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman