Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about building control. This is because it is late and there are no good reasons the complainant could not have come to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of building control for an extension to her property. She says this has caused financial loss and resulted in the property being uninsurable and uninhabitable. She says this has also caused financial losses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X says construction works were carried out to her property in 2023. During those works she says the Council missed inspections and did not document the building control process clearly or communicate with her in a timely manner. She says she thought a completion inspection was carried out in September 2023 but was not aware until October 2024 that a completion certificate was not issued. Mrs X says a completion certificate is still yet to be issued by the Council.
7. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman in January 2026, more than 12 months after she became aware of the matter. As such, this complaint is late and there is no good reason Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
8. Even if the complaint were not late, however, the Ombudsman could not hold the Council responsible for the injustice Mrs X claims. It is the responsibility of a property owner or developer, and any builder working for them, to ensure building work complies with relevant standards. Nor is the presence or absence of a building control completion certificate an indicator of the quality of work carried out on a building because the Council is not overseeing the work. An owner or developer would need to engage a clerk of works for that purpose.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman