Summary: Mr X Complained about the Council’s failure to take action against the owner of a neighbouring property which he says has been derelict for 20 years. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the failure of the Council to take action over a neighbouring property which he says is empty and derelict. He says the owner returns sometimes and lights bonfires which create smoke over his property. He wants the Council to compulsory purchase the property and offer the owner social care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

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What I found

4. Mr X says he has been complaining for 20 years about a neighbouring property which has been abandoned by its owner and is causing disrepair issues to spread to his own property. He says the owner sometimes returns and lights bonfires which cause excessive smoke. He says the owner cannot look after himself and lives elsewhere.
5. The Council has been working with the neighbouring owner, social services and the local Police to seek a way of improving his situation. It says the house is not derelict and is the main home of the owner so there are limits to what action it can take. Where a resident has mental capacity to arrange his own affairs a local authority has no powers to take or sell a property or remove the owner without consent.
6. The Council cannot disclose the details of what action it is taking due to third party data protection but it is clear that it is seeking to assist the neighbour in the management of his property.
7. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. In this case there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant any remedy from an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman