Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his issues relating to a boundary fence. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the provision and management of social housing by a council.

The complaint

1. Mr X is a freeholder. He raises various issues arising from a Council tenant living next door to him removing part of a boundary fence.
2. Mr X says the Council has failed to deal with his complaint properly, has delayed taking action, has introduced additional issues concerning a condensation pipe on his property as retaliatory action and discriminated against him on the grounds of disability by not facilitating his request for telephone calls as a reasonable adjustment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mr X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council’s property next door to Mr X’s, is owned and managed by the Council as a Council tenancy.
8. Mr 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.

9. This restriction to our powers applies to complaints about the handling of boundary issues at Council-owned properties. I am satisfied the Council has been addressing Mr X’s complaint in its capacity as a landlord of social housing. I note from the Council’s responses to Mr X that its housing management department has been dealing with Mr X’s complaints.
10. This bar on our powers also applies even if, as with this complaint, the person who has complained is not a Council tenant.
11. Where the main complaint issue lies outside our remit, we would not investigate a complaint about associated complaint handling issues. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
12. This means we will not investigate the associated issues Mr X complains about such as complaints handling and the alleged discrimination. This is because it would not be proportionate to do so when we have no powers to consider the main issue relating to the Council’s role as a provider and manager of social housing.

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Final decision

13. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council as a registered social housing provider.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman