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 about the Council’s building control service. The Council’s building control service was used during the construction of Mr X’s home. Mr X purchased the property after the works were completed and says the building does not comply with regulations. He believes the Council’s building control officers failed to properly inspect the works and says a completion certificate should not have been issued. Mr X says he has suffered financial losses because of the Council’s actions.

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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. Mr X believes the Council failed to properly inspect the building works and says it should not have issued a completion certificate. However, 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 says he has suffered financial losses because of the defective work and the Council should compensate him. 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 a person purchasing a property to have a full survey completed before purchase. If defects are discovered in work carried out before the purchase, we would expect the building owner to have a remedy against either the person that 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