Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled a dispute about a boundary with a Council owned property. This is because it is late and Mrs Y could take the matter to Court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of Mrs Y that the Council has failed to respond to enquiries regarding a dispute about her boundary with one of its properties.
2. Mr X says the boundary is eroding while Mrs Y waits for the dispute to be resolved.
3. He says the Council should liaise properly and engage in discussion to progress the issue.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. 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)
7. It is not a good use of public money to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. Mrs Y first complained to the Council about the boundary in 2024.
11. I consider Mr X’s complaint on behalf of Mrs Y about the Council’s actions regarding the boundary late.
12. A complaint is late if it has taken someone more than 12 months to complain to the Ombudsman. Mrs Y knew about the issues with the boundary in 2024 and the Council told her at the time that it did not consider it was responsible for the problems she was experiencing. Mrs Y could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.
13. Even if I agreed the complaint was on time, my decision not to investigate would be the same. Mr X says the boundary is a shared responsibility. The Council says it is the responsibility of the owner of Mrs Y’s property.
14. The Council and Mr X have both provided detailed explanations to support their positions on responsibility for the land in question. The Ombudsman cannot decide which party is responsible for the land. If Mrs Y wishes to pursue the boundary dispute, or if she considered her property has been damaged as a result of the Council’s actions, she could take the matter to court. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court and I consider it would be reasonable for Mrs Y to do so.
15. Mr X also complained about the way in which the Council handled Mrs Y’s complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint on behalf of Mrs Y because it is late and Mrs Y could take the matter to Court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman