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

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council failed to identify issues with a property before signing it off as compliant with the Building Regulations. Mr X has since bought the property and says he is experiencing damp and mould issues.

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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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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The Building Regulations

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. When carrying out their functions under the Building Regulations, local authorities may visit at various stages but the number and timings of any inspections vary by local authority and type of development. Local authorities are not present for the great majority of the project and do not act as a ‘clerk of works’. 
7. On request and when satisfied after taking 'all reasonable steps' that the Regulations have been met, the local authority (or any private ‘approved inspector’) must issue a completion certificate. But a completion certificate is not a guarantee that all works are completed to the necessary standard. All the certificate can and does state is that, as far as the Council could tell at the time, building work complied with the building regulations.
8. Where a local authority issues a completion certificate for work which is later found not to comply with the Building Regulations, the council does not take on liability for the substandard work; this remains with the builder and those who commissioned the work.

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My assessment

9. We would expect any person purchasing a property to have a full survey before completing their purchase. If a defect is later discovered in work completed before the purchase we would expect the building owner to have a remedy against either the person who carried out the survey or the previous owner/developer. It is a matter between the purchaser and the developer as to whether there is any private warranty or whether it benefits from a certificate from NHBC which provides an independent guarantee of the work. It is for the purchaser to protect their position.
10. We cannot hold the Council responsible for the issues with Mr X’s property. We cannot therefore say it must put right any defects with the build. This is for the reasons set out at Paragraph 8.
11. Mr X believes the Council should take enforcement action against the developer but the Council has explained the reasons it has decided not to do so and it is not for us to question them. The developer has agreed to carry out some remedial works to address the issues with the property and if Mr X is not satisfied with this he may wish to seek legal advice about making a claim against them through the courts.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X. The issues Mr X has with his property result from work carried out by the builder/developer and his remedy lies in a claim against them.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman