The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a request for a deed of variation. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more for the complainant.
The complaint
Ms X has complained about how the Council dealt with a request for a deed of variation to a legal agreement. The legal agreement related to a property Ms X has now purchased. Ms X says she has incurred significant costs because of delays by the Council and says it should compensate her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue 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), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The property Ms X has purchased was subject to a legal agreement which meant it had to remain as affordable housing in perpetuity. The previous owner of the property contacted the Council and asked for the restriction to be removed by a deed of variation as he was trying to sell the property and previous sales had fallen through because of the restriction.
The Council had previously refused the request. However, after looking into the matter further, and requesting additional information, it agreed to the deed of variation.
Ms X has complained about how long it took for the deed of variation to be completed. She says she incurred additional costs because of the Council’s delays as she had to arrange a new mortgage and mortgage interest rates increased.
While the process may have been frustrating, the Council did not have to agree to the deed of variation. It was entitled to refuse previous requests and take time to seek additional information and advice before it eventually agreed to the variation. Once the Council did agree, the necessary legal processes needed to be carried out. I understand Ms X is unhappy with how long it took for the deed of variation to be completed. However, she was aware of the restrictions on the property when she decided to start the process to purchase it. The Council is also not responsible for increases in mortgage rates.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman would add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more for Ms X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman