Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s requirement for separate initial notices for two properties in relation to building regulation applications. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council was being pedantic and operating out of line with the rest of the country when it required separate initial notices for building regulation applications for two properties he had been involved in developing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ which we call ‘fault’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X made a building regulations application for two properties on one initial notice. The Council rejected the notice and told Mr X it required two separate ones.
7. Mr X complained to the Council that it was the only council he knew which had this requirement and that the notice covering two properties should not have been rejected. The Council responded to explain its reasons for rejecting the initial notice and why it did not register two properties as a single address.
8. Mr X may disagree with the procedure the Council follows but it is not our role to act as a point of appeal. The Council correctly followed its procedure and there is no evidence to suggest it acted with fault.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman