Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council preventing her from crossing its land to access her home. She says she has established a legal right to do so but the Council has erected a gate to block her access. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because this concerns a legal matter which can only be resolved by the courts. It also concerns land managed by a social housing landlord and these bodies are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council erecting a gate to prevent her from driving over its land to access her home. She says she registered an easement with the Land registry in 2018 but that the Council are legally contesting this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says 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)
3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mrs X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

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What I found

5. Mrs X applied for a crossing over the Council’s land in front of her home in 2010. The Council refused permission even though she had been crossing the land already. She applied to the Land Registry in 2018 to register an easement on the basis that the land had been used as a crossing for 20 years.
6. The Council says it has never allowed access over the land which would cause problems with maintenance and public safety. As a result, it had closed off access over the land by a gate and barriers. It is pursuing legal advice about challenging the easement registered with the Land Registry. Mrs X says she has sought legal advice which suggests she has an established right to drive over the land.
7. The Ombudsman cannot provide a remedy for disputes about legal matters such as access over land. Only the courts can determine the ownership and legal rights of use. The land in question belongs to the Council Housing authority and we have been unable to investigate complaints about estate management by social housing landlords since 2013.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because this concerns a legal matter which can only be resolved by the courts. It also concerns land managed by a social housing landlord and these bodies are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman