The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: A homeowner complained the Council cut back her hedge without her permission. But we cannot investigate this matter because the law prevents us from considering complaints about what councils do when they are acting in their role as social housing landlords.
The complaint
The complainant, who I shall call Mrs B, complained that the Council cut back part of the hedge on the boundary between her house and a tenanted Council property without her consent. Mrs B also complained the Council had not offered her enough compensation for the impact of its error in this respect.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. In particular we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. [Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5.5 (as amended)]
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information Mrs B provided with her complaint. I also took account of information the Council provided in response to our enquiries. In addition, I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I consider we cannot investigate Mrs B's complaint because we no longer have power to investigate complaints about councils when they are carrying out their role as landlords of their housing properties. This follows a change in the law in April 2013 which transferred authority for dealing with most complaints about the management of council housing to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
In Mrs B’s case, the works to her hedge were carried out by contractors on behalf the Council’s housing management service. This action was in response to an issue Mrs B’s neighbour, a Council tenant, raised about the height of the hedge.
As a result I consider the legal restriction on us investigating complaints about council housing management applies in Mrs B's case.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs B's complaint about the Council cutting back her hedge without permission. This is because we are precluded by law from pursuing complaints about councils when they are acting in their role as social housing landlords.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman