Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a building control issue. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mrs X by investigating it further.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council signed off her neighbour’s building work as compliant with the Building Regulations without properly inspecting it. She believes the work is substandard and presents a hazard and is concerned about possible damage to her property.

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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. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
5. I appreciate Mrs X is concerned about her neighbour’s building work but there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision to issue a completion certificate for it. The Council is satisfied the work complies with the Building Regulations and although Mrs X may disagree with this it is not for us to decide whether the Council’s decision is correct.
6. Furthermore, the courts have decided that councils do not take on liability for building work they have approved but which is later found not to comply with the Building Regulations. Instead, responsibility remains with those who commissioned the work and those who carried it out. We could not therefore say the Council is liable for any issues which have occurred as a result of the work or which may occur in the future. This is a private civil matter between Mrs X and her neighbour.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mrs X by investigating it further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman