Summary: There is no fault by the Council. The Council has no power to enforce where residents place bins on private land. There is no evidence that Mr and Mrs X have reported specific incidents of anti-social behaviour that the Council could investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I shall call Mr and Mrs X, complain the Council has not prevented other residents from leaving their bins on private land next to their property until collection. They complain this is antisocial behaviour and that there is a smell from the bins.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the papers submitted by Mr and Mrs X and discussed the complaint with them.
5. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
6. Mr and Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Mr and Mrs X live on a small housing estate, which is privately managed by a residents association.
8. Mr and Mrs X complained to the Council that the other residents were leaving their wheelie bins at the side of their property, sometimes for over 24 hours. The Council said that as its bin lorry could not fit under an archway, residents had to move their bins the other side of it for collection. The Council said that as the land the wheelie bins are being left on is private property (managed by the residents association), it had no powers to enforce movement of the wheelie bins on private land.
9. The Council officer recommended that Mr and Mrs X contact the police, as they said they had suffered racial abuse from their neighbours. The Council complaints procedure gave Mr and Mrs X details of the Council’s anti-social behaviour team so they could report any specific incidents directly.
10. The Council has no power to enforce where residents place bins on private land. So, there is no fault by the Council on this point, as it has clearly explained this to Mr and Mrs X.
11. Mr and Mrs X have complained about anti-social behaviour from their neighbours. However, I can see no evidence that they have made complaints to the anti-social behaviour team with the individual residents details they wish to complain about and details of the incident. So, on this point I find no fault. In order to take action over anti-social behaviour the Council needs details of each incident and the resident involved. I cannot see how the Council cannot investigate general complaints about the residents association or groups of residents as anti-social behaviour. Especially when it has already explained that it cannot take any action over where bins are placed on private land. It would need specific details of which resident they are complaining about and details of the specific anti-social behaviour.

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Final decision

12. I have completed my investigation. This complaint is not upheld as I have found no evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman