Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about substandard building work carried out to a property she has recently purchased. This is because the Council had no involvement in inspecting the work or issuing the Building Regulations completion certificate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains Erewash Borough Council (the Council) wrongly signed off building work as compliant with the Building Regulations. Ms X subsequently bought the property and the roof requires major repairs.

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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 a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I reviewed Ms X’s complaint and assessed it in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1974 and our Assessment Code.

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What I found

5. Ms X bought a property in late 2018. The property had been extended and the work benefitted from a Building Regulations completion certificate from another council, Council B. This stated that, as far as Council B could tell at the time, building work complied with the Building Regulations.
6. Council B says Council C did the majority of the checks on the work and it only issued the completion certificate at its request. It told Ms X the Council now handles building control matters for Council C and suggested Ms X complain to them.
7. The Council denied responsibility for this matter so Ms X went back to Council B. Council B emailed the Council to explain the situation and Ms X says she has emailed it twice since, however she has received no response.
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. The Council had no role in signing off the work to Ms X’s property and it does not assume responsibility for work carried out by another council, even though it may now provide building control services on their behalf.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the Council is not responsible for issuing the Building Regulations completion certificate.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman