Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a building control matter. This is because the complaint is late and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council gave her neighbour permission to replace a waste pipe located on her property. She says the length of the pipe means she cannot fit a grate on the drain to stop leaves and food waste from building up and blocking it, causing flooding to 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 Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint about this matter in July 2021. Its response explained Mrs X could escalate the complaint to the Chief Executive within 28 days if she remained unhappy, but she did not do so. She complained to us in January 2023; her complaint is therefore some six months late.
8. While we do have discretion to investigate late complaints I have seen no good reasons to do so in this case. It is also unlikely we would find fault by the Council even if we did investigate; this is because the Council has confirmed the connection has been carried out in accordance with the Building Regulations and the neighbour is entitled to discharge water into the drain.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman