London Borough of Croydon (22 010 061)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a breach of contract as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to seek a remedy in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has breached the contract he has with it, through which the Council places tenants in his rental property. Mr X says the Council owes him at least £4000 in rent increases which it has failed to implement and pass on to him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainantl.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We are not able to determine whether the Council has breached the contract it has with Mr X. Only the courts can do this. There is a low cost, simple procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to take court action and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to take court action for the financial remedy he seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman