Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with a building control matter in 2023. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider it now. This is because it is reasonable to expect that Mr X to ask the courts to consider this matter.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s wording of information provided in conveyancing searches when he was buying a property in 2023. He believes the Council was negligent and this led to him purchasing a property with significant defective building work. He says while the Council has accepted fault, its insurer refuses to award him compensation for time, trouble and the cost of remedial works. He wants us to investigate the Council’s handling and make it pay him the compensation he seeks.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We 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 or continue an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. 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. 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.
8. Mr X appears to have first raised concerns with the Council about this matter in Spring 2024. He has since had extensive correspondence with the Council’s insurers about his claim for compensation as a result of his belief the Council acted negligently. The Council has then confirmed its final position to Mr X in its stage two response in May 2026.
9. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Mr X has been aware of this issue since at least March 2024. Any concerns he continues to have about the Council’s handling of conveyancing enquiries in 2023 during his purchase of the property occurred more than 12 months prior to his complaint to us in January 2026.
10. We can exercise discretion to consider late complaints if there is good reason to do so. I have not enquiries whether there is a good reason, because even if we investigated, we could not achieve the outcomes Mr X wants.
11. Mr X believes he has suffered financial loss because of the Council’s alleged negligence and it should pay him compensation for this. He made a claim to the Council’s insurers which was refused. The Council’s insurer explained its reasons for refusing Mr X’s claim, setting out its defence against a negligence claim on this case.
12. Even if we disapplied our rule around time, we cannot decide a negligence claim. Deciding whether an organisation has been negligent usually involves looking rigorously, and in a structured way, at evidence as only the court can, to make its findings. Also, only a court can decide if an organisation has been negligent and so should pay any damages sought. We cannot recommend actions or payments that ‘punish’ the Council. We would expect someone in Mr X’s position to seek a remedy in the courts.
13. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to use his right to pursue his claim in the courts if he disagrees with the decision by the Council’s insurer to refuse his claim and wants to challenge it further.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to use his right to make his claim to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman