Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of their neighbour’s planning application. This is because the complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for them to complain about it sooner. We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to address their concerns about their neighbour’s building work as we cannot say this caused the injustice they claim. We cannot therefore achieve any worthwhile outcome by investigating this issue further.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain about the Council’s handling of their neighbour’s planning application in 2023. They also complain the Council has failed to take action against their neighbours for substandard building work which they believe has damaged, or may damage, their property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of their neighbour’s planning application. This is because the Council granted planning permission in 2023 and Mr and Mrs X did not complain to us about the matter until nearly two years later. This aspect of their complaint is therefore nearly one year late and I have seen no good reasons why they could not have complained to us sooner. I have however reviewed the Council’s report on the application, which shows how it reached its decision, and consider it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council even if we were to investigate. The concerns Mr and Mrs X raised at the time, insofar as they were relevant to the application process, were taken into account by the planning officer and the report explains the reasons the Council granted planning permission. We have no powers to question the planning officer’s judgement and I have seen no evidence of fault affecting the decision.
8. Mr and Mrs X also complain about the Council’s failure to take action against their neighbour, but we will not investigate this issue because it does not cause them significant injustice and it is unlikely any investigation could achieve any worthwhile outcome.
9. The Council is not responsible for the quality of the work or for any damage to their property resulting from the work carried out by their neighbour. It has confirmed the work carried out complies with the Building Regulations, as far as it could tell, but the courts have decided the issue of a completion certificate does not mean a council takes on responsibility for any substandard work, or for the impact of such work.
10. If Mr and Mrs X believe their neighbour’s building work has damaged their property or infringes on their property rights they would need to consider whether to take action against their neighbour through the courts. We could not achieve anything for them by investigating their complaint about the Council, as it is not responsible for the injustice they claim.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr and Mrs X to complain about the Council’s handling of their neighbour’s planning application sooner, and we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for them by investigating the way the Council dealt with their concerns about their neighbour’s building work.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman