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

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained the Council did not carry out proper checks before issuing a completion certificate for his home. After purchasing his property, Mr X discovered there was no insulation where there should be as required by building regulations. Mr X says the lack of insulation has led to higher heating bills and he will incur significant costs to put the issue right. Mr X says the Council should apologise for not taking reasonable steps before issuing the completion certificate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Most building work will require building regulation approval. The regulations will set the standards for design, construction and ensure the health and safety of the people living in or around the building.
5. While the Council will normally visit the site at various stages of the build, it does not act as a clerk of works or a site manager and the responsibility for compliance with the regulations rests with the building owners and builders. The council’s role is to maintain the building standards for the public in general rather than protect the private interests of an individual.
6. Mr X has raised many concerns about the Council’s building control service and the checks carried out before it issued the completion certificate for his home. Mr X says he will incur significant costs rectifying the issues he has discovered. However, caselaw has established that where a council has issued a completion certificate and the work is later found to be substandard, liability for any defects rests with those that commission the work and those that carry it out. We therefore cannot hold the Council responsible for substandard work by the builder and it is unlikely we could achieve a worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating his complaint.
7. Furthermore, we would expect that a person purchasing a property would have a full survey carried out before completing the purchase. If a defect is later discovered we would expect the building owner to have a remedy against the person who carried out the survey or the previous owner.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation would achieve a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman