Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a building control matter. This is because we could not achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained the Council signed off defective building works at her property. Mrs X says building work has been delayed because of the incorrect advice from the Council and she has suffered financial losses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

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 regulations 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. Mrs X says the Council signed off building works at her property, but she has since discovered the foundations are not deep enough and additional work is needed to rectify the issue. Mrs X says the Council should pay to remedy the problem.
7. However, I cannot say the Council is responsible for the repair works or that it should pay to rectify the issues with the building works. Primary responsibility for the building works rests with those that commission it and those that carry it out and the courts have held that councils are not liable for pure economic loss arising from issues with the quality of works. 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.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not achieve the outcome she wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman