Birmingham City Council (23 013 339)

Category : Housing > Council house sales and leaseholders

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 30 Jan 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is delaying the processing of the complainant’s Right to Buy application. It is reasonable to expect the complainant to use the statutory notice of delay procedure and, if needed, to take the Council to court.

The complaint

  1. Miss X says the Council is failing to progress her Right to Buy (RTB) application because a neighbour has refused to engage in discussions to resolve a boundary issue.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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

  1. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence and an update on the status of the RTB application.
  2. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. There is a strict procedure with time limits for each stage of the RTB process. The procedure also provides for an applicant to serve a ‘notice of delay’ on the Council if they consider it is delaying the sale.
  2. The Council must either move along the sale or send a counter notice to the tenant explaining what action it has taken or explain why it cannot progress the sale. If the Council does not reply within a month the tenant can complete a ‘operative notice of delay’ form. Any rent the tenant pays while waiting for the Council’s response can be taken off the sale price.
  3. If a Council still does not act on notices of delay, a tenant may take their dispute to the County Court, under section 181 of the Housing Act. This makes provision for an applicant to ask the Court to decide any issue/disputes arising during their application to purchase. The Council would have the chance to put forward a defence, and the Court could decide the matter.
  4. The law expressly provides this route for RTB disputes, so we normally expect people to use it. I find it reasonable for Miss X to use the notice of delay process and, if necessary, to go to court, to address any delays in the purchase of the property.
  5. The restriction detailed in paragraph 2 above therefore applies to this complaint, so the Ombudsman will not start an investigation.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to use the notice of delay procedure, and if needed, to take the Council to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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