Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has not completed repairs at her commercial property and seeks compensation for this. We will not investigate as it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to seek a remedy through the courts.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the poor condition of her commercial property which she leases from the Council. Mrs X wants the Council to carry out repairs and to pay her compensation for the delay.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I have considered what Mrs X said in her complaint and I have sent her my draft decision on it for her comments.

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What I found

4. Mrs X complains about the poor condition of her commercial property which she leases from the Council. Mrs X complains about lack of heating, damp conditions, water ingress and lack of fire alarms. Mrs X complains about delay in the Council carrying out repairs.
5. Mrs X wants the repairs to be done and compensation for the delay.

Analysis

6. We cannot determine what repair duties the Council has under the terms of its lease with Mrs X or award compensation for any failings. This is a matter for the courts and it is reasonable to expect Mrs X, as a business owner, to take such action. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit and we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. My decision is that we will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs X can take court action for the remedy she seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman