East Riding of Yorkshire Council (19 016 634)
Category : Other Categories > Land
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Feb 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about encroachment onto her land by a property developer. This is because her complaint concerns a boundary dispute. This is a private civil matter between Ms X and the property developer as the owner of the neighbouring land. It is not for the Council to investigate the property developer’s actions, and so there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, complains a property developer has removed a boundary fence and encroached onto her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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
- it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered Ms X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.
What I found
- Ms X says a property developer has removed a boundary fence and has encroached onto her property. She has asked the Council to take enforcement action, but it has refused to do so.
- Ms X’s complaint is about a private civil matter. It is between Ms X and the property developer as the owner of the neighbouring land. It is not for the Council to become involved in such disputes. If we were to investigate, it is therefore unlikely we would find fault. If Ms X wants to pursue the matter, she may wish to seek further legal advice on taking action through the courts.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman