Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s aborted purchase of a property she owns. This is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the Council’s commercial activities which do not form part of its administrative functions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council pulled out of purchasing a property she owns for reasons it was already aware of but had overlooked. As a result she has been made liable for council tax for the period between two tenancies.

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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
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

3. We cannot investigate complaints about the actions of a council otherwise than in connection with the exercise of its administrative functions. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1), as amended)
4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and assessed the complaint in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1974.

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What I found

6. Ms X owns a property which she rents out. The Council offered to purchase this property but the officer dealing with the matter overlooked a key detail which ultimately led to the Council withdrawing its offer.
7. In preparation for completing the sale Ms X’s tenant vacated the property. When the sale did not proceed, the Council sent Ms X an invoice for council tax for the period it was empty. Ms X complains the property was only empty because the Council pulled out of purchasing the property and believes it should waive the Council tax owed for this period. She is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of her calls and complains about the matter, and about its delay in dealing with her subject access request.
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. The Council’s proposed purchase of Ms X’s property was not related to any administrative function; any complaint about the process therefore falls outside our jurisdiction.
9. However, even if the complaint was within our jurisdiction it is unlikely we would investigate it. Ms X’s council tax liability stems from the fact her property was unoccupied and while Ms X attributes this to the Council’s actions we could not make this link.
10. No sale is confirmed until contracts are exchanged and Ms X did not reach this stage with the Council; there was no guarantee the sale would complete and the Council did not ask Ms X to end the tenancy agreement. The Council has also explained it did not require vacant possession so the tenant may have remained in the property even if it had decided to proceed with the purchase.
11. While Ms X is also unhappy about the way the Council has dealt with her complaint, the courts have said that where we cannot investigate a complaint about the main or underlying issue, we cannot normally investigate related issues either. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration in England [2006] EWHC 2847 (Admin)). So, where the substance of a complaint is not subject to investigation, the Ombudsman does not investigate the Council’s handling of the issue in isolation.
12. Ms X also raises concerns about the Council’s handling of her subject access request but this is a peripheral issue and it is more appropriate for consideration by the Information Commissioner.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns the Council’s commercial activities rather than an administrative function and such matters fall outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman