Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a housing improvement notice about a problem with a door. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint as Mrs C has exercised her right to appeal to the First Tier (Property) Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mrs C complains the Council has issued her with an improvement notice due to identifying a problem with a door. Mrs C disagrees with the Council and says it should not have issued an improvement notice. Mrs C says she has completed all required works to the door and would like the improvement notice revoked. She says the Council has antagonised and bullied her, causing her mental health to suffer. Mrs C would like compensation for stress and damage caused.

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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 a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered what Mrs C said in her complaint and discussed it with her by telephone. I have also considered the complaint correspondence from the Council.
5. I have given Mrs C the opportunity to comment on a draft before reaching a final decision and I have considered her response.
6. I have considered the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.

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What I found

7. Mrs C disagreed with an improvement notice issued by the Council due to a problem with a door which she says should not have been issued and is incorrect. Mrs C appealed to the First Tier (Property) Tribunal but later withdrew her appeal.
8. Mrs C says she believes she has adhered to the improvement notice by installing a certified glass viewing panel. Mrs C says the Council has been unreasonable and complains a viewing panel located higher in her door would impact on her privacy. Mrs C also complains installing the panel has caused her financial loss.
9. Mrs C complains of financial loss and says the Council awarded her a discretionary grant to complete the eligible works to the door. Mrs C says the Council has not applied this grant and says this has left her in financial hardship.
10. The Council says Mrs C had not satisfied the requirements in the improvement notice and it has issued a notice of works in default. If the Council considers the works undertaken by Mrs C have not satisfied the requirements they can recalculate or withhold the grant.
11. Mrs C says the Council has served her with a new improvement notice. It would be reasonable to expect Mrs C to appeal to the First Tier Property Tribunal in respect of any new improvement notices, not least because the new notice relates to works specified in the original notice.
12. The restriction in paragraph 3 of this statement applies to Mrs C’s complaint. She appealed to the First Tier Property Tribunal and so, even though she decided to withdraw her appeal, the Ombudsman cannot investigate the complaint.
13. Mrs C is also unhappy with the way the Council has dealt with her complaint. She feels it has victimised and bullied her causing mental distress for which she would like compensation. Where the Ombudsman cannot investigate a Council’s actions, we cannot separately investigate the way the Council handled the complaint or the reasons for its actions. In this case that includes Mrs C’s complaint about bullying and victimisation by the Council.

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Final decision

14. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs C has already exercised her right to appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman