Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to take enforcement action in relation to a building control matter. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate the start of court proceedings. It is unlikely we will find fault in relation to the remaining issues complained about.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about the Council’s decision to start legal proceedings in relation to unauthorised works to his property. Mr X disputes the grounds on which the Council took legal action and says it did not contact him to discuss the matter before taking enforcement action. Mr X says he has incurred unnecessary costs and suffered distress as a result.

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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 about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Most building work will require building regulation approval. The regulations set the standards for the design and construction of buildings and ensure the health and safety of people living in and about those buildings. Building regulation approval can be from the Council’s building control inspector or a private sector approved inspector. If the applicant uses an approved inspector, they must submit an initial notice to the Council before works start. Approved inspectors have no enforcement powers as these are retained by the Council’s building control service.
8. Mr X has complained about the Council’s decision to start legal proceedings. However, the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about the start of court action. Therefore, we cannot investigate Mr X’s concerns about what happened once the court summons was issued.
9. I have considered Mr X’s complaint about what happened before the summons was issued. Mr X says the Council failed to contact him to discuss the issues and he has incurred costs and suffered distress as a result. However, it is unlikely I could find fault by the Council in this regard. The Council wrote to Mr X after it received a letter from his approved inspector advising the initial notice had been cancelled. The Council told Mr X the works were therefore unauthorised and invited him to make a building regulation application. The Council also told Mr X enforcement action would be considered if an application was not received. The Council wrote to Mr X again as it did not receive a response before taking enforcement action. I am satisfied the Council contacted Mr X, gave him opportunities to submit an application and advised him of the consequences of not submitting an application. Therefore, it is unlikely I could find fault.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint as we cannot investigate the start of court proceedings. It is unlikely we will find fault with the remaining issues complained about.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman