Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to waive repayment of a ‘right to buy’ discount. This is because the Council has agreed our invitation to reconsider its decision. That is a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not properly consider whether to waive asking him to repay the ‘right to buy’ discount when selling his home. He said this caused distress and he feared not being able to move to the area where he could receive family support.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and copy correspondence from the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. If we investigated this complaint it is likely we would find the Council at fault because:
1. The law says the Council ‘may’ demand repayment of some of the ‘right to buy’ discount if the buyer sells the property within a certain time. (Housing Act 1985, sections 155 and 155A) So the Council has discretion.
2. Government guidance reiterates councils have discretion and says they may waive repayment ‘in exceptional circumstances.’ It does not define ‘exceptional circumstances’ exhaustively, but a non-exhaustive list of examples includes ‘…the onset of sudden illness, bereavement, relationship breakdown or harassment.’ (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Right to Buy – A guide for local authorities, April 2023)
3. So, the Council does not have to require repayment of the discount. In each case, it can decide whether to do so. In exercising that discretion, it should consider whether exceptional circumstances apply.
4. Mr X wants to sell his home within the relevant period after buying it from the Council. He argued to the Council that his circumstances warranted waiving the repayment because of factors related to his personal and family situations, his health and his finances. We have not given more details here, to protect Mr X’s anonymity. The Council’s responses said the Council was ‘unable’ to agree to waive the discount. None of the Council’s responses referred to its discretion in law, or to government guidance about that discretion, or otherwise showed the Council was aware of and had properly considered that discretion.
5. Therefore, if we investigated, we would be likely to find the Council had not properly reached its decision, causing Mr X the injustice of not knowing what a properly considered decision would be on this important matter.
7. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice its actions caused by taking the action set out below, to resolve the complaint early.

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Agreed action

8. To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint by doing the following:
1. Within two weeks of today, the Council will contact Mr X and invite him to supply any further comments, arguments or supporting information within four weeks of the date the Council contacts him.
2. Within four weeks of Mr X replying (or, if he does not reply, within four weeks of the date the Council contacts him), the Council will:
1. make a new decision, having regard to everything Mr X has provided since he first raised this matter with the Council and to the law and government guidance; and
2. set out that decision in a letter to Mr X, explaining the Council’s reasoning with reference to Mr X’s arguments and to the law and guidance.
9. It is not for us to say what the Council’s new decision should be, only that the Council must reach its decision properly. If Mr X disagrees with the new decision, he will have the right to ask the county court to resolve the matter. (Housing Act 1985, section 181)

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman