Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council not re-building his wall properly after it was damaged by the Council tenant at the adjoining property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord.

The complaint

1. Mr B says his garden wall collapsed because of the actions of the Council tenant at the adjoining property. Mr B says the Council did not re-build this wall properly which has resulted in it collapsing again, but the Council has refused to take any responsibility.

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

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My assessment

6. Mr B owns his property. The adjoining property is owned and managed by the Council.
7. Mr B’s complaint is about the Council’s actions as the 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 to our powers applies to complaints which are about the maintenance of property buildings, gardens and boundary features. This restriction also applies even if the person making the complaint privately owns or rents their property.
8. This means we cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint and have no discretion to start an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr 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