Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a building control matter. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. It is unlikely we could achieve a worthwhile outcome for the complainant.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, thinks the Council should have provided him with technical assistance/advice, when a potential breach of the building regulations became apparent after it had issued a completion certificate for his new-build home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman can investigate 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 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), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X, and our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. While the Council will normally visit a site at various stages of a build, it does not act as a clerk of works or a site manager and the responsibility for compliance with the building 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.
5. Case law 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 any substandard work, or insist that it provides Mr X with technical advice about the alleged breach of the regulations.

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Final decision

6. 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