The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about wall repairs. This is because it is better dealt with by the courts than by us.
The complaint
Mr Y complains the Council has failed to ensure a wall next to Mr Y’s home is repaired and reinforced. He is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint.
Mr Y says the wall is leaning towards his property and posts put in place in 2018 are now buckling. Mr Y is concerned about potential damage to his home and garden and believes the Council are responsible for the wall repairs.
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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mr Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr Y moved into his new build property in 2018. Prior to Mr Y purchasing the property the Council had placed timber posts against the wall to the rear of the property after it partially collapsed. It did this to protect the public and prevent further collapse onto Council land.
Mr Y contacted the Council in March 2021 complaining that the posts were beginning to buckle, and he was concerned about damage to his property and the land from his garden slipping if the wall fell. He told the Council that be believed it was responsible for the repair of the wall, and if it was not, then the wall, which he said did not belong to him, would belong to the developer who had built his property. He asked the Council to ensure the wall was repaired either by it or by the property developer and prevent damage to his property. Mr Y then approached us in March 2022.
In response to our initial enquiries, the Council has said, having investigated the ownership of the wall, that neither it nor the developer own the wall. It says the wall, which stretches across the boundary line of several properties in the estate, was sold as part of the land each property is built on. This would suggest that the wall potentially is the responsibility of Mr Y to repair. Mr Y has throughout the complaint disputed this view and does not consider himself responsible for the repair.
Analysis In this case there is a dispute over who owns and therefore who is responsible for the repairs Mr Y says are needed on the wall next to his home. We cannot determine who owns a particular piece of land; this would be a matter for the courts. In determining who owns the wall, the court will also be able to determine which party is responsible for the repair to the wall.
As we cannot decide ownership of the wall, this complaint is better dealt with by the courts. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.
Mr Y has also complained about the Council’s handling of his complaint. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because the courts are better placed to consider this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman