Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council’s building control officers. This is because it is unlikely the Ombudsman could add to the Council’s response or achieve the outcome the complainant wants. The Ombudsman will also not investigate how the Council dealt with reports about a potentially dangerous structure. This is because the complainant has not been caused any significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about how the Council dealt with reports about a structurally unsafe wall. The structural issue with the wall also affects the property Mrs X recently purchased. Mrs X complains that she was unaware of the problem before buying the property as the Council failed to issue a notice for the unsafe structure. She also complains that the Council’s building control officers issued a completion certificate for the building even though they should have been aware of the structural defect.

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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:

• 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
• 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 have considered Mrs X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision and have considered the comments received in response.

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What I found

4. Most building work will require building regulation approval. The regulations will set the standards for design, construction and ensure the health and safety of the people living in or around the building.
5. The Council will normally visit the site at various stages of the build. But councils do not act as a clerk of works and the responsibility for compliance with the regulation’s rests with the building owners and builders. The Council’s role is to maintain the building standards for the public in general rather than protect the private interests of an individual.
6. Councils can take action to protect the public if it considers a building or structure to be unsafe. Councils can order works to improve the dangerous structure and if the building owner does not comply with the order the council can carry out the works and charge for the cost.

What happened

7. In 2018, the Council granted planning permission to convert an outbuilding into a residential dwelling. During 2019, building control officers from the Council visited to inspect the works. In July 2019, the owner of the adjacent property contacted the Council to report concerns about the safety of the boundary wall.
8. In July and August 2019, the Council visited the site and met with the owners of the properties affected. The Council also wrote to the person who owned the application site at the time. However, no formal notice was issued.
9. In January 2020, the Council’s building control officers issued a completion certificate for the development. Mrs X purchased the property in February 2020. Shortly after the sale, the Council contacted Mrs X and told her that the damaged wall could also affect the structure of her property.
10. Mrs X has complained that the Council should have issued formal notices regarding the structural issue as this would have shown up on the searches carried out before she purchased the property. Mrs X has also complained that the Council issued the completion certificate when it knew the development may be structurally unsafe. Mrs X says she has incurred significant costs as a result of the Council’s failures and has requested compensation. She also says she has been caused considerable stress by the matter.

Assessment

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome or achieve the outcome Mrs X wants.
12. Mrs X has complained the Council issued a completion certificate for the development when it knew the building was not structurally safe. She says the Council should compensate her for the significant costs she has incurred as a result. But I could not say the Council should reimburse these costs. The courts have held that councils are not liable for pure economic loss. The Ombudsman takes the same view as the courts and we will not usually investigate complaints where the main issue is one of pure economic loss.
13. Mrs X purchased the property after the completion certificate was issued and once the wall was already showing structural issues. She argues that the Council should have served a formal notice regarding the unsafe structure and if it had done so the issue would have shown up during the conveyancing process.
14. When the Council was first informed about the damaged wall, it visited the site and was in contact with the then owner of Mrs X’s property and advised that works may be required. However, at the time the Council did not consider the wall dangerous and therefore did not serve a formal notice. It served a notice under section 78 of the Buildings Act in 2020 as the situation had changed and it decided the wall was unsafe. I understand Mrs X says the notice should have been served sooner. But the Council was entitled to decide it was not appropriate to take formal action before 2020. The Council has accepted that it should have updated its system to show that Mrs X’s property was affected by the wall. However, I cannot say Mrs X has been caused any significant injustice in this regard as it was not necessary to serve formal notices until after she purchased the property.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman