London Borough of Waltham Forest (24 013 627)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about Japanese Knotweed spreading to his property from the neighbouring council owned property. This is because we have no power to investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about Japanese Knotweed spreading to his property from the neighbouring council owned property. He says the Council has not acted effectively to remove the Japanese Knotweed. He also reports the Council’s communication and complaints handling about this has been poor.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X lives next to a property owned by the Council. Mr X says this property has an infestation of Japanese Knotweed and the Council’s response about this has been slow.
- The Council has admitted that some of its communication could have been better. It has arranged for a three-year treatment programme to start.
- The law says that we cannot investigate any complaint which involves the Council acting as a landlord. The Council has arranged for treatment in its capacity as the landlord for the neighbouring property. This means that we cannot start an investigation and cannot intervene in any further action the Council may take.
- As I am not investigating the complaint about the Japanese Knotweed, I will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling. This is because it is not a proportionate use of public money to investigate this alone.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have no power to investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord and carrying our housing management functions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman