Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council ending her allotment tenancy for breach of the conditions. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains that the Council unreasonably served her with a notice to quit her allotment after she was found to be growing an illegal substance.

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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:

• 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.

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

3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mrs X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response and Mrs X has commented on the draft decision.

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What I found

5. The Council served Mrs X with a notice to quit her allotment tenancy following reports that she was growing an illegal crop on her Council allotment plot. Mrs X says that she was unaware that the plants contravened the Misuse of Drugs Act and required a licence to be grown anywhere. She challenged the Council’s reasons for serving the notice because she believes it was not a breach of the tenancy condition described.
6. The Council says it cannot allow its allotment plots to be used for a criminal act and insists the plot should be vacated.
7. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
8. The Council is the landlord and it is entitled to serve a notice on its tenants to leave the site. Mrs X is not a secure tenant and if she wishes to challenge the legality of the notice she would have to seek a remedy in the courts.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman