Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council carried out the Right to Buy process for her. The Council accepted its failings and offered a suitable remedy. We have discontinued this investigation as there is nothing else we can achieve.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the way the Council handled her Right to Buy application. She says the Council’s officers acted unprofessionally and failed to provide her with reasonable service.
2. Mrs X says the Council’s failings affected her health and she had to be signed off sick for a few weeks by her doctor. They also caused her, she says, financial loss by an increased mortgage rate and by missed deduction the Council promised in the final purchase price.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully.
4. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as the relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. 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

What happened

8. In the summary below I have only included the events which are relevant to my decision.
9. In August 2021 Mrs X sent her Right to Buy application to the Council.
10. After much correspondence asking the Council to act, Mrs X served the Council with the Notice of Delay in May 2022.
11. At the beginning of August 2022 the Council sent Mrs X the Right to Buy offer notice.
12. After the re-determination of the market value of Mrs X’s property by the district valuer, at the end of January 2023 Mrs X received a revised offer notice with the discount of £87,200.
13. In mid-May 2023 Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to acknowledge her notice of intention and the general lack of cooperation from the Council. She said the Council’s failings had caused her significant stress and anxiety.
14. In the first week of June 2023 the Council told Mrs X about the error in its offer notice from January 2023. When offering a discount on the value of the property the Council should have applied the maximum discount available at the time of Mrs X’s Right to Buy application, which was £84,600. The Council explained it could not award Mrs X more than the maximum discount allowed by law at the date of her application. It served Mrs X with the new amended offer notice.
15. In November 2023 Mrs X’s original mortgage offer expired and she applied for a new one which was granted with higher interest rates.
16. At the end of January 2024 the Council provided its stage one response to Mrs X’s complaint. Mrs X was not satisfied and asked for her complaint to be escalated. She said because of the Council’s delays and other failings she had suffered financial loss which she should be compensated for. She also raised the issue of her stress and anxiety.
17. In mid-June 2024 the Council sent Mrs X its breakdown of the payments it was prepared to make to compensate for the delays during the Right to Buy process. The total payment amounted to £6,020 and consisted of:
• rent paid between May and August 2022 - £1,500;
• an error in the discount applied - £2,600;
• the difference in mortgage repayments caused by the increased interest rates - £1,920.
18. In its stage two response to Mrs X’s complaint the Council acknowledged and apologised for the errors and delays during the Right to Buy process. It offered to pay £6,040 which consisted of:
• rent rebate - £1,500;
• the difference in mortgage repayments caused by the increased interest rates - £1,890;
• compensation for distress and inconvenience, including a symbolic payment for the failure to respond to Mrs X’s complaint - £2,650.
19. Mrs X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s offer. She considered that in addition to the payments offered the Council should have honoured its commitment expressed in the letter from mid-June 2024 to refund £2,600 of the difference between the property discount originally suggested and then lowered.

Analysis

20. I appreciate Mrs X is distressed by the Council changing its mind about including the discount difference of £2,600 in the compensation sums offered to her. But the Council can review any previous offer, as it did in this case.
21. The Council is not obliged to refund Mrs X £2,600 which is the difference between the property discount originally applied and the one amended in June 2023. This is because the change in the discount did not put Mrs X in a worse position than she would have been if not for the Council’s error. The Council’s error contributed to Mrs X’s distress, but I consider this is adequately remedied by the Council paying the extra mortgage costs she incurred because of this, as well as the payment for the distress and inconvenience.
22. It would not be proportionate to carry out further investigation of this complaint because:
• the Council upheld Mrs X’s complaint and apologised for its failings;
• the payments for the rent rebate and mortgage payments are appropriate; and
• the sum paid for distress and inconvenience is significantly higher than we would have recommended had we investigated.
23. Even if we decided to include a payment for the discount error (which is not to say we would) any investigation would recommend a much lower payment for distress and inconvenience. The result would be that our proposed remedy would be similar to, or lower than, the sum the Council has already paid Mrs X.

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Decision

24. I have discontinued my investigation. I cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome from further investigation as I am unlikely to be able to achieve the remedy Mrs X wants and the Council has provided an appropriate remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman