The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions relating to a building regulation completion certificate. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s intention to grant a completion certificate for works to a flat below his which he says are unsatisfactory. He also wants the Council to take enforcement action because the works below caused cracking to his flat which he had to have repaired at a cost of over £1,200.
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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6)) 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 the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he is concerned about the quality of works being carried out in a ground floor flat below a property which he owns. He says the owners carried out structural work which caused cracking in his flat and he was dissatisfied with the compliance with fire regulations and sound proofing. He asked the Council’s building inspectors to visit the site and take enforcement action. The Council told him that following an inspection, the work was not yet completed and that there is no timescale to complete works before a completion certificate can be issued.
Mr X was concerned about the safety of occupiers of his own flat and the one below which was occupied before any certificate was issued. He made a formal complaint and the Council told him that it would not take action because the damage to his property was a civil matter and the work had not yet been completed and no certificate was issued.
Once a building regulations application has been received there is no timescale by which the works should be completed once they have commenced. The Council considered the works to be ongoing when Mr X complained and it had not issued a completion certificate at the time. since Mr X complained to us, he says the work has been finished and the Council has issued a certificate.
The Council had no liability to compensate Mr X for the cracking to his property. Damage caused by a neighbour during building works is a civil matter and liability can only be determined by the courts. It was reasonable for Mr X to require his neighbour to repair the damage or compensate him for his loss. If this was denied then he would need to seek legal action under a negligence claim.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions relating to a building regulation completion certificate. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman