Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint that a tree at a Council property is causing damage to his property. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains a very large tree at the adjoining Council property is causing damage to his property. Mr B says the Council has ignored his correspondence and complaint about this. Mr B would like the Council to repair the damage to his property and to regularly maintain this tree to prevent further damage.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr B.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr B’s complaint is about the Council’s management of the adjoining property which is owned by the Council.
8. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord. This restriction applies to complaints which are about the maintenance and management of property buildings, gardens, trees or boundary features.
9. This restriction also applies to the Council’s handling of Mr B’s correspondence about this issue.
10. This means we cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint and have no discretion to start an investigation.
11. But, even if we had the power to investigate, we would not start an investigation into Mr B’s complaint. This is because we take the view that complaints about property damage are best decided by the Council’s insurers and ultimately the courts.
12. Because of the seriousness of the issue complained about, it is reasonable to expect Mr B to put in a claim to the Council’s insurers, and if needed, take the Council to court. Mr B may be able to get the help of his building insurer to pursue a claim as he has done in the past.

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Final decision

13. We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman