Summary: Mr X complains the Council is harassing him and interfering with his legal rights and legal processes in claiming adverse possession of a plot of land. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate matters which are subject to legal proceedings. Nor can we order the Council to stop pursuing him for the costs of removing the wall materials.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council is harassing him. And that it is failing to follow the correct legal process when dealing with him.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.

Back to top

What I found

5. Mr X has applied to the Land Registry for adverse possession of a piece of land. The Council has confirmed that it will contest Mr X’s claim. I will refer to this as ‘the land’.
6. Mr X built a wall on the land. The Council write to him in August 2018 stating the wall is unauthorised and he does not own the land. It told Mr X to return the land to its original state within 14 days of the date of the letter.
7. Mr X complained to the Council stating that it should not take any action against him for the wall until the outcome of the adverse possession claim is known.
8. In September the Council wrote to Mr X. It again stated the wall was unauthorised. It said as Mr X had not removed the wall it would reinstate the land itself and recover the costs from him.
9. On 15 October Mr X wrote to the Council, challenging its claim to the land. He stated he would take legal action if the Council removed the wall.
10. On 25 October the Council told Mr X he should remove the wall ‘forthwith’. It also explained the fact he has filed for adverse possession does not entitle him to develop the land.
11. Mr X says he then went abroad. While he was away, he says a third party demolished the wall and piled the material up behind his van on a different site blocking him in. On his return from abroad Mr X says he arranged for the wall materials to be moved back off the land for storage with a fence around it.
12. In November the Council removed the wall materials. It sent Mr X an invoice for the work.

Assessment

13. The Ombudsman cannot investigate matters which are subject to legal proceedings, so we cannot look at the ownership of the land in question.
14. Mr X wants the Ombudsman to instruct the Council to stop all action against him until the ownership of the land is decided. This includes pursuing him for payment of the cost of removing the wall materials. This is not something the Ombudsman can. He says the Council should have taken him to court to remove the wall. The Council wrote to Mr X on at least three occasions, confirming that if he did not remove the wall it would do so and recover the costs from him. Mr X did not remove the wall. Mr X says he returned the walling material to the land on his return from holiday. The Council then removed the wall materials.
15. If Mr X considers the Council has trespassed and illegally removed his property, then he can ask the Court as this is not a matter for the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Final decision

16. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because:
• we cannot investigate matters which are subject to legal proceedings
• we cannot decide whether the Council has acted illegally in removing the wall material from the disputed land; and
• we cannot instruct the Council to suspend pursuit of recovery of the costs in removing the wall materials from the land

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman