Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a covenant inserted into a property title linked to a right to buy sale as there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to the complainant.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council inserted a covenant into the property title requiring her to pay estate charges after she exercised her right to buy the home she had rented from the Council. Mrs X complains this is unfair as there are no shared services or communal areas and that neighbours who also bought their homes do not have this covenant. Mrs X wants the Council to remove the covenant and compensate her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault causing an in justice to the person who complained (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council’s stage 2 complaint response indicated that the right to buy offer notice included details about the service charges and formed part of the offer. The Council also said that prior to the sale, Mrs X had signed to say that the service charges had been explained to her, in a face-to-face meeting about the proposed sale.
6. I recognise that Mrs X is unhappy about the service charge, but it was her choice to proceed with the sale despite knowing about it, and so essentially, the injustice she now claims arises from that choice and not from any Council fault. As such, there are not grounds for us to investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find Council fault causing an injustice to Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman