Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council maintains a piece of land near to Mrs X’s home as there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The injustice caused to Mrs X is also not serious enough to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council is not complying with a deed of covenant that requires it to maintain an area of land near to her home. Mrs X is unhappy as she says the area is overgrown and is harbouring rats.

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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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has advised Mrs X of several ecological reasons as to why the land is maintained as it is, and that it considers it is complying with the deed of covenant. I have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council has decided this and as such, I cannot criticise the merits of it. That Mrs X is unhappy with the Council’s position does not provide us with grounds to investigate.
7. We cannot determine whether the Council’s interpretation of the covenant is correct as this is a legal issue which ultimately only a court could decide.
8. In addition, while I recognise Mrs X would like the vegetation on the land to be cut back and maintained in a tidier fashion, the impact on her personally from this, from our perspective, is not serious enough to warrant our further involvement.
9. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or of a serious injustice to Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman