The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the provision of housing for affordable housing on a development marketed as private open market housing only. This is because the complaint is made too late.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council purchased flats on the development where he lives. He says the Council is using the properties as affordable housing. However, he says before he bought his property he was assured the development was for privately owned, open market housing only.
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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he confirms he bought his property five years ago and became aware of the affordable housing at the same time.
The law says we cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons. Mr X says he raised the issue with the Council at the time but chose not to pursue the matter. His complaint is therefore late, and we have seen no good reasons to exercise discretion in this case.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman