The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in progressing the complainant’s Right to Buy application. This is because it is reasonable for him to use the Notice of Delay procedure, and if needed, take the matter to court.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council’s legal department is delaying his Right to Buy purchase, due to the way it is dealing with an ongoing boundary issue.
He says he is at risk of a mortgage offer expiring due to the delay, and wants the Council to progress the application as soon as possible.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X states the Council’s legal department has delayed in progressing his application to purchase his home and fails to respond to his solicitor’s enquiries in a timely manner.
There is a strict procedure with time limits for each stage of the Right to Buy process. The Housing Act 1985 provides for a Right to Buy applicant to serve a Notice on the Council if they consider it is delaying on the sale. The Council must either move along the sale or send a counter notice to the tenant explaining what action it has taken or explain why it cannot progress the sale.
If the Council does not reply within a month the tenant can complete a ‘operative notice of delay’ form. Any rent the tenant pays while waiting for the Council’s response can be taken off the sale price.
If a Council still does not act on notices of delay, a tenant may take their dispute to the County Court, under section 181 of the Act. This section of the Housing Act makes provision for an applicant to ask the Court to decide any issue arising during their application to purchase.
We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable for Mr X to use the process detailed above if the Council falls behind the statutory timescales set out in legislation for completion.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable for Mr X to use the Notice of Delay procedure, and if needed, take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman