Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council seeking to purchase a property that the complainant had been privately renting, and the difficulties this caused to her family. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council seeking to purchase the property she was privately renting, in order to accommodate its own housing applicants. Mrs X says her family was forced to move out, which has significantly affected their lives.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence.
4. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I appreciate it has been very difficult for Mrs X and her family to leave the home they had lived in for several years.
6. But, as the Council has explained, it was ultimately Mrs X’s landlord’s decision to sell the property and to offer it with vacant possession, and this was not something the Council encouraged or discussed with the landlord/agent. Although the Council was aware there were existing tenants when it offered to buy the property, the exact details of the occupants and their tenancies was unknown, and its due diligence enquiries did not reveal any potential difficulties for these tenants as a result of the proposed sale. When Mrs X’s complaint highlighted the impact of the sale on the existing tenants, the Council withdrew from the sale, although I appreciate Mrs X had already vacated the property by that time.
7. Considering the above, and with reference to paragraph 2, I find there is not enough evidence of fault to justify starting an investigation into Mrs X’s complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman