Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a building control matter. This is because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for her.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the Council’s refusal to take action against an adjoining property owner for building work which has damaged her property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in and about those buildings.
6. Caselaw has established that local authorities are not responsible for the impact of substandard building work carried out, even where they have signed the work off as compliant with the Building Regulations. Liability rests with those responsible for the work; that is, the people carrying out the work and those who have commissioned it.
7. Ms X is unhappy the Council did not stop her neighbour’s building work and that it has declined to prosecute them but its actions are not the cause of the injustice she claims. It is her neighbour’s building work which has damaged her property and we could not hold the Council responsible for this. If Ms X believes her case should be treated differently and that the Council is responsible for the damage she would need to argue this at court.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we could not hold the Council responsible for the damage to her property. We cannot therefore achieve any worthwhile outcome for her by investigating the matter further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman