Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a building control matter. This is because the Council has now taken enforcement action against her neighbour and its delay did not cause her significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the Council’s handling of her reports of unauthorised building works at her neighbour’s property. She also complains about the conduct of a building control officer, and about the Council’s handling of her complaint. She says she considered giving up on the issue as a result of the Council’s misleading responses and its failure to address her concerns.

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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 Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints and cannot provide a remedy for something which could have happened but did not.
5. The Council confirms it has now taken enforcement action against Ms X’s neighbour and any injustice Ms X claims from the Council’s delay is not significant enough to warrant investigation. It is also unlikely we could achieve anything worthwhile now that the underlying issue has been resolved.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has taken appropriate action to deal with Ms X’s concerns and the injustice she claims is not significant enough to pursue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman