Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about substandard building work carried out by the developer of her property. This is because the Council had no involvement in the building work and is not responsible for the injustice Mrs X claims.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains about substandard building work carried out by a developer she understood to be in partnership with the Council. She says the Council failed to act on reports of defects with the new-build properties and sold further parcels of land to the same developer, leading to more issues. She says this has caused significant stress and financial loss.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide 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 Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Council confirms it sold land to the developer but had no further involvement with them than this; building control services including inspections, etc. were provided by NHBC, rather than the Council, and it is not responsible for resolving any issues there are with the quality of the build.
5. The courts have decided that even where councils sign off work as compliant with the Building Regulations, and where this work is later found not to comply, they do not take on responsibility for the cost of putting the work right. Here the Council did not sign the work off and it had no involvement whatsoever with the build. The fact it sold land to the developer does not mean it has any responsibility to resolve any issues with the houses built and sold by the developer. Responsibility for this work, and for putting right any defects, rests with those who commissioned and carried out the work.
6. Mrs X’s injustice lies in the cost of putting right the issues she has discovered with her property and we cannot hold the Council responsible for this. She has sought legal advice on making a claim against the developer and although I appreciate she says she cannot afford to pursue this, this does not mean the Council should do so on her behalf or that it must pay for her to do so.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Mrs X claims results from the actions of the developer and the Council is not responsible for putting this right. The issue is a private civil matter between Mrs X and the developer and it is not something we can say the Council must resolve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman