Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action over a private home which is in a poor state of repair. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action against a neighbour whose home is in a poor state and which she considers is a fire risk to the area. She is concerned about an external electricity supply to a caravan and derelict cars and pallets outside which could also be a risk as well as affecting the visual amenity of the area.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says her neighbours are living in a house which is in disrepair and has a large amount of waste outside including derelict vehicles, pallets and a caravan which a family member is living in. She is concerned about the risk of fire at the property because of an unsafe electrical supply from the house to the caravan and the proximity of cars and combustible rubbish close to the house.
6. Mrs X complained to the Council and it inspected the property but did not take any formal action. The Council would not give her details what action it was taking due to data protection restrictions which it could not disclose without the neighbour’s consent.
7. We made some enquiries of the Council and it has confirmed that it passed Mrs X’s concerns to the fire brigade who carried out a fire safety assessment of the property. It concluded there was no risk to life and gave advice about use of the caravan. Because the caravan is on private land, the authority could only give advice as to its use. The Council is involved in a multi-agency approach to the matter but we cannot disclose details of what this involves due to the same data protection restrictions as the Council.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made. In this case the Council has responded to Mrs X’s concerns and is satisfied that the fire authority has assessed the situation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action over a private home which is in a poor state of repair. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman