Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly advised his builder about compliance with the Building Regulations. This is because we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly advised his builder about compliance with the Building Regulations. He says that as a result he has spent approximately £3,000 for additional work to his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

4. The Council granted Mr X planning permission to develop his property in 2018. Mr X’s builder issued the Council a building notice and started work. Following concerns from neighbours Mr X decided to amend his plans and instructed his builder to discuss the matter with the Council’s building control department. He says the building control officer advised his builder on compliance with the Building Regulations and his builder completed work in accordance with their advice. The Council then issued a completion certificate.
5. Mr X has since found out there is an issue with the work and that it is unlikely to comply with the Building Regulations. He commissioned additional work to put this right at a cost of £3,000 and believes the Council should reimburse him.

6. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Building regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in and about those buildings.
7. Caselaw has established that primary responsibility for building work rests with those who commission the work and those who carry it out. This is typically the homeowner and their builder. A local authority may advise the homeowner/builder on compliance with the Building Regulations and, where it is instructed to inspect the work, it may issue a completion certificate. But the courts have decided that it does not assume liability for substandard work. We cannot therefore say it must reimburse Mr X for his additional costs.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman