The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a building control matter. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve the outcome the complainant wants.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained the Council issued a completion certificate for defective building works. Mrs X purchased her home in 2019. The previous owners of the property built a single storey extension, and the Council issued a completion certificate for the building works. Mrs X discovered problems with the extension after she moved into the property. She says these issues should have been identified by the Council’s building control inspector.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Most building work will require building regulation approval. The regulations will set the standards for design, construction and ensure the health and safety of the people living in or around the building.
The Council will normally visit the site at various stages of the build. But councils do not act as a clerk of works and the responsibility for compliance with the regulations rests with the building owners and builders. The Council’s role is to maintain the building standards for the public in general rather than protect the private interests of an individual.
Mrs X says the Council should not have signed off the faulty works. She says it should help her find a suitable builder to rectify the problems with the extension and compensate her for the significant costs.
However, I cannot say the Council is responsible for the repair works or that it should pay to rectify the issues with the extension. Primary responsibility for the building works rests with those that commission it and those that carry it out and the courts have held that councils are not liable for pure economic loss arising from issues with the quality of works. The Ombudsman takes the same view as the courts, and we will not usually investigate complaints where the main issue is one of pure economic loss.
In addition, we would not normally investigate a building control complaint about building work carried out before a person has purchased a property. This is because we would expect a person buying a property to arrange a full survey and carry out all reasonable checks and searches. If defects only become apparent after purchase, a remedy may exist against either the person who carried out the survey or the previous owner of the property.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could achieve the outcome she wants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman