London Borough of Haringey (24 013 961)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Dec 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council unlawfully ended his tenancy agreement for business premises he occupied for several years. This is because we cannot decide whether the Council’s actions were unlawful and if Mr X thinks they were, it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has terminated his lease agreement for business premises without prior warning.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has occupied business premises leased from the Council for several years. He believes he has a valid lease agreement but the Council says the lease document he refers to was a draft and was never completed; it does not therefore consider it is valid. Rather, it says Mr X had a ‘tenancy at will’, which is an agreement to occupy premises with the consent of the landlord and which either party can end at any time.
- The Council says it ended the tenancy at will with Mr X due to unpaid rent owed under the tenancy and that it needs the premises back anyway for development purposes.
- It is not for us to determine the legal position regarding Mr X’s tenancy or the validity of the agreement the Council says was a draft.
- Mr X considers the Council’s decision to end his tenancy is unlawful but this is a matter for the courts. If therefore Mr X believes the Council has breached any agreement and ended his tenancy unlawfully, it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take legal action against the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman