Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to maintain a ditch behind his property. We will not investigate this complaint. We cannot decide where the boundary lays or who is responsible for the ditch. This is a matter for the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X says his rear garden is slipping into a ditch behind his property. He says he had to pay to have his fence moved into his garden by 1 metre. He wants the Council to contribute towards the cost of the work.
2. He believes the Council owns the ditch and should accept responsibility for maintaining it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information provided by Mr X which includes a copy of the Council’s final response to his complaint.

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What I found

5. Mr X rear garden backs onto a ditch on open land. He believes the Council owns the ditch and land. Mr X says because of a lack of maintenance, part of his rear garden is slipping into the ditch.
6. Mr X reported the problem to the Council.
7. The Council’s final response to him confirms it considers the title deed from the Land Registry is unclear as to the location of the boundary and who is responsible for it. The Council maintains it is not responsible for the ditch.
8. The Ombudsman has no authority to decide property boundaries and we cannot resolve the dispute between Mr X and the Council. Only the courts can resolve a boundary dispute between landowners.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate this complaint. We cannot determine who owns and/or is responsible for the ditch.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman