The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the way the Council responded to her reports of nuisance from a neighbour. This is because the law prevents us from investigating a council when it is acting as a landlord.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the way the Council has responded after she reported problems with her neighbour, who is a council tenant. She wants the Council to take this matter back to court to evict her neighbour.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended) We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X has been complaining to the Council about anti-social behaviour by her neighbour for at least the last four years. She says the Council told her it would seek to evict her neighbour and Mrs X provided a witness statement to support the Council’s case in court.
Mrs X says the Council has not evicted her neighbour as promised. We cannot investigate complaints about tenancy management by the Council as a social housing landlord. The law also prevents us from investigating the Council’s actions in relation to court proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the law prevents us from investigating a complaint which involves the Council acting as a landlord or its actions as part of court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman