Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council is charging her too much rent on her business property. Miss X entered into a legal agreement with the Council and it was incumbent on Miss X to ensure she was satisfied with the terms of the lease before she signed it. The Ombudsman cannot therefore say that the injustice Miss X claims arises from Council fault. Additionally, the Ombudsman cannot achieve the outcome Miss X seeks, which is for a refund of some of the rent she has paid.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the rent the Council is charging her on her business property is too high. Miss X has discovered that a nearby business, run from a bigger property, pays a lower rent to the Council. Miss X wants the Council to reduce her rent and refund her with the excess rent she believes she has paid.

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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 the alleged fault has not caused the claimed injustice, it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Miss X said in her complaint and sent my draft findings on the complaint to her for her comments. Miss X provided no further comment.

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What I found

4. Miss X has rented a commercial property from the Council since 2012. Miss X says she recently discovered that a nearby business pays a lower rent to the Council despite it being run from a bigger property. Miss X wants the Council to reduce her rent and also refund her with the excess rent she considers she has paid.

Analysis

5. It was incumbent upon Miss X to ensure she was satisfied with the terms of the lease before she signed it with the Council. Miss X entered into the agreement of her own volition and from our perspective, it is not valid now for Miss X to say that Council fault has caused her an injustice.
6. We cannot change the terms of the lease or ask the Council to refund payments Miss X has made.
7. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

8. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Miss X claims does not arise from Council fault and the Ombudsman cannot achieve the outcome Miss X seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman