Summary: We cannot investigate Ms B’s complaint about the Council removing her garden fence in response to the concerns of one of its tenants. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord.

The complaint

1. Ms B complains Council workers removed her garden fence without her permission because they considered it to be a risk to their tenant at the adjoining property. Ms B says the Council wrongly thought this fence belonged to the Council-owned property. Ms B complains the Council’s offer of compensation does not reflect all the costs she will have to pay to replace this fence.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by Ms B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms B owns her property. The adjoining property is owned and managed by the Council as a Council tenancy.
7. The Council’s actions in relation to Ms B’s fence were in the Council’s role as the social landlord of the adjoining property. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord. This restriction applies to complaints, like Ms B’s complaint, which are about the maintenance and management of a Council property’s boundary features.
8. This means we have no discretion to investigate Ms B’s complaint.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Ms B’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman