Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s action regarding disrepair at a neighbouring private house. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We will not investigate his complaint about statutory nuisance as there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action against his neighbour for causing damage and nuisance from disrepair. He says he has been complaining since 2019 about the property being unsafe, derelict and causing dampness and drainage problems.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council in 2019 about the condition of a neighbour’s house which has a shared boundary and wall with his own. He said that the windows, roof and garden were overgrown and derelict and that this was causing dampness and danger to his own home. The Council advised Mr X that he could take his own civil action against the owner for negligence damage and private nuisance if he his property was suffering.
7. In 2020 the Council carried out some emergency work under the Building Act legislation to ensure a loose window and brickwork was made safe. It also commenced enforcement proceedings under s.215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990. The owner appealed against the enforcement notice and subsequent court hearings were postponed and delayed by the Magistrates Court.
8. The Council contacted Mr X about inspecting his home after he complained that the house next door was a statutory nuisance and prejudicial to health. Mr X did not agree to an appointment for the Council to investigate the nuisance. In 2022 the owner died and the property remains in disrepair. The Council would not be able to serve any abatement notice if it was allowed to assess and found there was a statutory nuisance until the new owner is contacted. At present the ownership of the house has not been established.
9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s actins because he was aware of the problem more than 12 months before he complained to us. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner or made a civil claim against his neighbour when he was alive.
10. The complaint about statutory nuisance was made within 12 months. A Council has to be able to observe the claimed nuisance for its officers to decide whether or not a statutory nuisance is present. Mr X did not allow access to his home for this to take place when the neighbour was alive. No abatement notice could now be served if a nuisance was present until the new owner can be identified.

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Final decision

11. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s action regarding disrepair at a neighbouring private house. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We will not investigate his complaint about statutory nuisance as there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman