Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s search advice about the status of a road outside Ms X’s property in 2007. This was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s incorrect advice about the status of a road outside her property which she was told in 2007. She says she bought the property on the understanding that the road was adopted by the Council. In 2019 she was told by the Council that the road is a private road maintainable at resident’s expense. She says the road requires repairs and this will cause her expense which the Council should meet.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. Ms x bought her home in 2007. At the time of purchase her solicitors asked the Council about the status of the road outside. The Council’s searches confirmed that the road was ‘maintainable at public expense’. She says she would not have bought the property if she had known it would be the residents’ responsibility as it was showing signs of disrepair.
6. In 2019 she asked about repairs responsibility for the road and was told by a Council officer that the road was in private ownership. She says the officer refused to send her emailed confirmation of this and was rude and unco-operative. She asked the officer to send her a complaints form, but she says this was not done.
7. In 2021 she complained to the Council, and it told her that her complaint was out of time because she was aware of the officer’s conduct and the road status in 2019 but had not complained for 2 years. The Council also informed her that the error she claimed was made more than 6 years before she complained, and it is outside the provisions of the Limitation Act 1980.
8. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. It was reasonable for Ms X to complain to us within 12 months of being advised in 2019 that the road was not adopted, and that the advice given on the property search in 2007 was incorrect. I have seen no evidence to suggest she could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman