South Kesteven District Council (21 016 943)
Category : Planning > Building control
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse Mrs X building regulation approval for work carried out at her home. This is because she has a right of appeal to the Secretary of State against any refusal to issue a compliance certificate and it would be reasonable for her to use this.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council has refused to give her a building regulation compliance certificate. Mrs X says this has meant she has been unable to sell her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X can appeal to the Secretary of State against the Council’s decision to refuse to grant her a building regulation compliance certificate or for refusing to relax or dispense with building regulation requirements. I can see no reason why Mrs X cannot pursue her right of appeal and therefore we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has a right of appeal to the Secretary of State and I consider it would be reasonable to use this if she is unhappy with the Council’s decisions regarding building regulation compliance at her home.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman