The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council failed to identify defective building work which did not meet the building regulations. This is because an investigation would not achieve a meaningful outcome.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains the Council failed to identify defective building work when it inspected the new build property he purchased. Mr B says the Council issued a building control completion certificate even though the property had fire safety defects and a defective balcony. Mr B says these defects are now preventing him selling the property. Mr B also says the Council has delayed responding to his concerns about this issue. Mr B would like the Council to accept it was at fault and apologise. Mr B would also like the Council to pay him compensation.
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 an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The primary responsibility for building work and compliance with the building regulations rests with building owners and builders. The courts have held that local authorities are not responsible for the costs of putting right defective building work which does not meet the building regulations. This means even if an investigation found the Council was at fault, we would not ask the Council to make a payment which the courts have decided local authorities are not required to pay.
So, an investigation would not be a good use of our limited resources or achieve a meaningful outcome for Mr B.
Because we are not investigating the substantive matter, an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Mr B’s correspondence is not justified.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because an investigation would not achieve a meaningful outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman