Leicester City Council (25 028 977)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about defective drain. This is because the complaint is late and Mr X can take the Council to court.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council has failed to deal with an ineffective drain in his road for three years. This has led to flooding, and he believes it is causing damage to his foundations. He wants the Council to prioritise the repair and complete it as a soon as possible.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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).
- We cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
- The Council replied in January 2026 that it had inspected the drain. It agreed it was damaged. It said it had added the drain to its list and planned to repair within the financial year. However, it said it could not give a definite date.
- We will not investigate this complaint because it is late, as Mr X was aware of the issue more than 12 months before he complained to the Ombudsman. There are no good reasons for the delay.
- Mr X believes the Council is negligent and this has caused damage to his home. Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. Negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if necessary, the courts.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s claim that the Council’s delay has caused damage to his home. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to seek a remedy by taking the Council to court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late. In addition, we will not investigate because it is reasonable for him to take the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman