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

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Miss X, complains the Council issued building control certificates for a property when it did not comply with building regulations.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X complains on behalf of a property development company. The company relied on building control certificates the Council issued when purchasing a property from a third party. A later report considered the building unsafe for habitation until rectification works are completed.
6. Miss X wants the Council to release the building control files to the company’s solicitors, for the Council to accept that it should not have signed off the building and pay compensation for the rectification works.
7. Councils will issue a completion certificate when satisfied, after taking all reasonable steps, that works meet the requirements of Building Regulations at the time. A certificate is not a guarantee that all works have been done to the required standard.
8. Caselaw states where a local authority issues a certificate, it is not liable for substandard work; this responsibility remains with those carrying out or commissioning the work rather than with the Council signing it off. Therefore, we cannot say the Council is liable for Miss X’s company’s losses.
9. We would not normally investigate a building control complaint about building work carried out before a property was purchased. This is because we would expect an interested party would have a full survey done before completing the purchase. That is the case here, and there are no grounds for us to intervene. If defects are discovered after purchase, a remedy may exist against either the previous owner of the property or their builders.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman