Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s handling of building control matters relating to a loft conversion he carried out. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because it was made too late and because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, says the Council’s Building Control Team is wrong to ask for extra works to be completed before it will issue a completion certificate for his loft conversion. He says the works were not mentioned to his builder at the time and they are not legally required. He wants the Council to issue the certificate and pay him compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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, or
• 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

4. In considering the complaint I spoke to Mr B and reviewed the information he and the Council provided. I gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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What I found

5. Mr B employed builders to carry out a loft conversion for which Building Regulations approval was required. Instead of submitting a full plans application, whereby drawings are deposited for approval, Mr B gave notice of commencement of building work with a building notice where various stages of the work are inspected and approved by the Council but no plans are checked.
6. Various inspections were carried out by different officers. The Council’s records show that at the commencement visit in February 2017, Officer X discussed with Mr B’s builders the need for specific fire precaution requirements to be included.
7. Officer X also carried out the final inspection visit in November 2017 and the Council’s contemporaneous records state that he noted four outstanding issues, including further fire precaution features, which required completion.
8. In March 2019 Mr B sought a completion certificate from the Council but it advised him that it would not issue one until the outstanding works had been completed.
9. Mr B complained to the Council about this and it responded under the two stages of its complaints procedure. It explained that matters had been discussed at some length with his builders when Mr B was not present during inspections and that at the first inspection the builders had been told there were issues with the layout of the building which necessitated full fire alarm and protection throughout. It acknowledged the final inspection could have been followed up with a letter highlighting the outstanding items but that the builders had given the impression that what were minor issues could be dealt with and a further final inspection could then be carried out.

Assessment

10. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 2 of this statement applies to Mr B’s complaint because he knew at the end of 2017 that there were still works outstanding. While we do have discretion to investigate late complaints, there are insufficient grounds which warrant doing so in this case and the complaint therefore falls outside our jurisdiction.
11. Mr B says he was aware in 2017 of the possibility that the additional works listed by Officer X would be required but that this was not confirmed to him in writing at the time. The Council has explained that given the minor nature of the works, and his builders’ response, that the works would be done and one might reasonably have expected Mr B to have followed up on this point when he did not receive the completion certificate, particularly given his business as a professional developer.
12. It is the Council’s role to decide what works are required to enable a completion certificate to be issued and it has provided details of the specific building regulations relating to those works. An investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to lead to a different outcome and I see no grounds on which to base a request for compensation.
13. Mr B says he is stymied because until the Council issues a contravention notice he cannot appeal against its refusal to give him a certificate. However, it is up to Mr B to decide whether to complete what are minor works or wait to see if the Council decides to take enforcement action.

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Final decision

14. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it was made too late and because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman