Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to Ms X’s neighbour’s boiler flue. This is because past events fall outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council in relation to its more recent consideration of the issue.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that despite first raising the matter of her neighbour’s boiler flue and its impact on her and her property in 2020, no enforcement action has been taken by the Council. She says when she raised the matter again four years later the Council avoided taking action and did not acknowledge any error or mistake.

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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)
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, 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. The time restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to the earlier part of Ms X’s complaint from 2020. As we would reasonably have expected her to have complained to us sooner about events from this time, they fall outside our jurisdiction due to the passage and time and will not be investigated.
8. When Ms X raised the issue of the flue and its location again with the Council four years later, an officer from Building Control and an officer from Environmental Health visited the site. It was explained to Ms X that because of the passage of time, no Building Control enforcement action could be take. With regard to a possible nuisance, the officer determined that the flue was not causing a nuisance from outside the property. As Ms X had previously declined access to her property for an assessment from inside, the Council offered to install carbon monoxide meters in her house by the window closest to the flue.
9. I see no evidence to suggest fault by the Council since Ms X raised the matter again in 2024. Officers visited the site and assessed matters using their professional judgement. It is open to Ms X to take the Council up on its offer of carbon monoxide meters to see if there are any elevated readings from inside her property.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because past events fall outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council in relation to its more recent consideration of the issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman