Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (23 018 074)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s management of the neighbouring property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.
The complaint
- Mrs B complains about the Council’s handling of several issues which she has raised about the neighbouring property, which is a Council tenancy. These issues include changes to the property which affected her privacy, and an ongoing request to define the boundary between the two properties.
- Mrs B also complains about the conduct of staff at the Council and its arms length housing management organisation who have handled her enquiries and her complaint.
- Mrs B would like the Council to provide clarity and transparency about the ongoing boundary issue. Mrs B would also like the Council to apologise and pay her compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs B’s complaint is about the Council’s management, via a housing management organisation, of the neighbouring property which is a Council tenancy.
- We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord.
- This restriction applies to Mrs B’s complaint because she is complaining about the Council’s management of the neighbouring property as a social landlord.
- This means we have no discretion to investigate the actions of the Council or the arms length management organisation which manages the tenancy on behalf of the Council.
- So, we cannot investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman