Summary: We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s management of its 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. Ms X complains, on behalf of Mrs Y, about the alleged disrepair and neglect by the Council of a Council property. Ms X says water damage from to Mrs Y’s property caused damp and mould adversely affecting Mrs Y and her family’s health. She also says the complaint has not been investigated properly.

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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 X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs Y owns her property. The Council’s property nearby is owned and managed by the Council as a Council tenancy.
7. Ms X’s complaint is about the Council’s management of a property in its role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.
8. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints about the handling of maintenance and disrepair issues at Council-owned properties. This restriction also applies even if, as with this complaint, the person who has complained is not a Council tenant.
9. This means we cannot investigate the issue Ms X complains about and have no discretion to start an investigation.
10. Where the main complaint issue lies outside our remit, we would not investigate a complaint about the complaint handling as an isolated issue. This is because it would not be a proportionate use of the Ombudsman’s resources.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council as a social landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman