The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a building control issue. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council has failed to enforce against breaches of the Building Regulations by a company which installed a boiler in her home in 2018. Miss X bought the property in late 2018/early 2019 and identified issues with the boiler at that time. She contacted the Council in September 2023 but it declined to take any formal action.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council considered Miss X’s concerns about the boiler installation but explained that it cannot take action in this case. This is because the time limit for taking formal action for any breaches of the Building Regulations passed in 2021 and because the Building Regulations do not directly deal with the concerns Miss X raised about the installation.
While Miss X is unhappy with the Council’s decision I have seen no evidence of fault in the way it was reached. We cannot therefore question it.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman