The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a building control matter. This is because we cannot question the Council’s judgement on the works necessary to comply with the Building Regulations or hold it liable for Mr X’s additional costs.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council’s building control officer wrongly advised him/his builder about the depth of foundations needed for his building work and told them to remove wooden supports holding back the ground, which then collapsed.
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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) 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 Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in and about those buildings.
There is more than one way to comply with the Building Regulations and most inspections will follow a building notice rather than a ‘full plans’ application. This means a building control officer will visit at various key stages of the build to ensure they are satisfied the work carried out complies with the Regulations. Where there is any dispute over this the officer will give advice about how those responsible for the work can ensure compliance.
Mr X is unhappy with the advice he received from the Council’s building control officer about the depth of the foundations required for his building work and says the initial depth stated by the officer- 3m- was based on incorrect information. But we will not investigate this issue because it did not cause Mr X significant injustice. Mr X says he corrected the officer and they eventually agreed, along with his structural engineer and contractor, that 1.8m deep foundations were suitable and it is not for us to question the officer’s judgement on this point.
Mr X also considers the building control officer is to blame for the ground collapsing into the trenches dug for the foundations but this is essentially an issue of negligence. The building control officer told Mr X he should remove wooden shuttering which had been put in place to hold up the walls of the trenches and replace it with another product. However, having removed the shuttering prior to pouring the foundations Mr X says the soil around the trenches collapsed, meaning he had to turn away his delivery of concrete and start again.
We cannot say the officer was wrong to tell Mr X he should remove the wooden shuttering and use another product or that this advice directly led to the collapse of the ground around the trenches. If Mr X believes the Council is responsible and that it should pay him damages for what happened it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court. We cannot determine the Council’s liability for the cost of the remedial works.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in the advice provided by the Council about Mr X’s building work or to show it caused Mr X significant injustice. If Mr X believes the Council is responsible for the collapse of the ground around the trenches it would be reasonable for him to make a claim against the Council at court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman