London Borough of Haringey (25 020 548)
Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a commercial lease for the complainant’s business. This is because the courts are best placed to deal with contractual matters, and it would be reasonable for the complainant to pursue the matter in court.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council is at fault in the way it carried out rent reviews for commercial units he leases. He says the delay in reviews carried out has resulted in him owing substantial arrears for back-dated rent and the financial strain could jeopardise his business.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X runs a company and rents commercial units from the Council. He says his company surveyors contacted the Council in 2019 about the lease but subsequently no rent review took place. He says he contacted the Council about the rent review between 2019 and 2023 but received no response.
- In February 2025, the Council notified Mr X about the new rent amount owed and the dates these new amounts became effective. Mr X says this resulted in him owing significant arrears due to retrospective rent dating back to 2019.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The matter turns on the implementation of a commercial lease, and the courts are best placed to consider such matters. It would be reasonable for Mr X to take legal action if he believes the Council has breached the terms of the commercial lease agreement, or if he believes fault on the Council’s part has caused him financial loss.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable for him to pursue the matter in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman