Summary: We cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s failure to maintain one of its properties. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains her property is being damaged due to the Council’s failure to maintain the adjoining property which it owns. Miss B also complains about the Council’s handling of her complaint. Miss B would like the Council to pay her compensation and inspect and repair its property.

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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 Miss B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss B owns her property. The adjoining property is owned by the Council.
7. Miss B’s complaint is about the Council’s maintenance of the adjoining property in its role as the social landlord of this property. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils acting as a social landlord. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints, like Miss B’s complaint, which are about maintenance issues and complaint handling.
8. Also, this restriction applies even if the person making the complaint is not a Council tenant or leaseholder.
9. This means we cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint and have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Miss 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