Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with reports that the complainants neighbours have installed a fence in breach of their tenancy, which encroaches on the complainants boundary. This is because boundary disputes are civil matters, and we cannot investigate complaints about the Council’s management of its social and leasehold housing. The events also happened too long ago.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complains about how the Council has dealt with her reports that her neighbours breached their council tenancy by installing a fence which encroaches on Miss X’s boundary. Miss X also says the neighbours have been racially abusive, damaged her car and threatened her family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. I cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to act when her neighbour breached their council tenancy when they installed a fence. This is because we cannot investigate anything the Council has done in its role of managing its social and leasehold housing, such as investigating complaints of breaches of tenancy agreement and deciding what action to take in its role as landlord. Also, any boundary dispute is a civil matter and is therefore a matter for the courts to decide upon.
9. I will not investigate Miss X’s claims that her neighbour racially abused her, caused damage to her car and threatened her and her family. This is because these are criminal matters which are best investigated by the police, not the Ombudsman.
10. Finally, the issues Miss X’s raises happened too long ago, with events going back some eighteen years. I see no reason why Miss X could not have complained sooner about this. Miss X did complain in 2020, and in June that year was told she could ask the Ombudsman to investigate. However, she did not approach the Ombudsman until November 2021.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because boundary disputes are civil matters, and we cannot investigate complaints about the Council’s management of its social and leasehold housing. Furthermore, the complaint is made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman