Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s streetlight works causing a water leak outside a property he owns and not accepting responsibility for the leak. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X seeks because we could not determine the Council caused the leak. The local water company is the body better placed to deal with the issues resulting from the leak.

The complaint

1. Mr X owns a property in the Council’s area which he rents out. He complains the Council:
1. moved a streetlight to the footway outside his property in 2025 which caused a water leak;
2. has refused to take responsibility for its works causing the leak.
2. Mr X says trying to resolve the matter has caused him stress. He says his tenant suffered from low water pressure when the leak first happened and now has a messy front driveway, which has upset the tenant. Mr X wants the Council to:
• accept the work they did moving the streetlight caused the leak;
• approach the water company to get the leak fixed or allow him to do so.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants; or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The core of Mr X’s complaint is that the Council and its contractor did works on the streetlight which led to a water leak affecting his property, and will not accept responsibility. The Council says it has not found it was its works which caused the leak. It has advised Mr X to contact the water company to get the leak fixed.
6. We recognise Mr X considers the Council’s works have caused the leak. But an investigation by us would not enable us to make that finding. It is unlikely there is evidence available to an investigation by us which would allow us to decide it was the Council’s works which caused the leak, and not some other cause. There is no worthwhile outcome on this core issue an investigation by us would achieve.
7. We recognise a key outcome Mr X wants from his complaint is for the Council to accept responsibility for the leak. An investigation could not achieve this outcome. And even if we could make a finding the Council directly caused the leak, we could not then order it to accept liability for the problems caused. We cannot make decisions on liability for damage from the water or remedial works to Mr X’s property. Only an insurer or the courts can make such decisions. If Mr X wants to pursue any claim for damages, he may wish to seek independent legal advice. That we cannot achieve the key complaint outcome Mr X wants is a further reason why we will not investigate.
8. We note Mr X also wants the Council to contact the water company about the leak to get it fixed. Alternatively, he wants to contact the company himself. There is no impediment to Mr X contacting the water company, as the owner of the property affected. It is for water companies to repair their pipes when they are damaged, whether that damage has been caused by them or another body. Mr X’s key concern is the impact of the leak on his property and his tenant, not who caused it. His primary recourse here is to the water company as the body better placed to deal with the leak. If the water company visits the site and decides it was the Council or their contractor which damaged their pipework, that would be an issue between the company and the Council, for them to resolve.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating; and
• we cannot achieve the key outcome Mr X seeks; and
• there is body better placed to deal with the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman