Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about inspections carried out by the Council under the Building Regulations. This is because the complaint is too late. And it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome and we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council failed to spot serious failings in the construction of an extension to her home. Because of this the building is not safe and she cannot sell her house without it being repaired. She wants the Council to pay for the work needed to correct the problem.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Mrs X and the Council. Mrs X commented on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

6. Mrs X had an extension built on her home. Work began in 2003. Site notes provided by the Council show the completion inspection was carried out in July 2004.
7. Mrs X contacted the Council in 2010 because cracks had appeared in her walls. The Council visited her property. The site notes state an inspector advised Mrs X to expose the block work to establish the possible cause of the cracking.
8. In 2016 Mrs X asked the Council for a copy of her building control plans. An office told her she could not provide the plans due to copyright reasons and advised her to get copies from the original architect.
9. Mrs X asked for the plans under the Freedom of Information Act in 2018. The Council provided them. She complained to the Council that the building control inspections that took place when the extension was built were inadequate. She demanded the Council pay for the cost of remedial work.

Assessment

10. The Local Government Act 1974 section 26B says a complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the complainant becoming aware of the matter. But we may exercise discretion on this point.
11. In this case Mrs X became aware of a problem in 2010 when she first contacted the Council. I understand that she has experienced personal and health issues which she says impacted on her ability to raise the issues earlier.
12. However, the extension was built 15 years ago and when carrying out their functions under the Building Regulations, Councils will visit developments at various stages. But they will be not be present for most of the project and do not act as a ‘clerk of works’. The Council must issue a completion certificate on request and when it is satisfied it has taken “all reasonable steps” to ensure the Regulations are met. This is not a guarantee that all works are completed to the necessary standard.
13. The Courts decided that you cannot hold a council responsible for economic loss for the cost of correcting a defect that resulted from its failure to ensure that a building complied with the building regulations. (Murphy v Brentwood District Council (1990)).
14. The House of Lords held that it is up to the owner to ensure the building was erected according to those Regulations. (Governors of Peabody Donation Fund v Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co Ltd & ORS (1984)).
15. It is the Ombudsman’s view that only in exceptional circumstances should he look to impose an obligation on councils where the courts have held there should be no liability in law. There are no exceptional circumstances which would lead me to impose such obligations in this case. Therefore, we would not achieve any worthwhile outcome by investigating the Council’s actions in this case.
16. For the reasons explained above I do not intend to exercise my discretion and investigate this late complaint. It is my view that Mrs X’s should seek compensation from the builder who carried out the original work.

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Final decision

17. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is too late, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman