South Hams District Council (24 013 293)
Category : Housing > Private housing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint the Council gave false information to the Court. The law says we cannot investigate what happens in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council provided incorrect information to the Court after his landlord started eviction proceedings against him. He said the Council’s actions contributed to his eviction. He said the Council also failed to respond to his contact. Mr X said the Council’s actions had caused him financial hardship.
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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
- 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. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council provided incorrect information to the Court. That is because the law says we cannot investigate what happens in Court. That includes any reports, or testimony the Council may have provided which was considered as part of court proceedings.
- We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council did not respond to his contact. The Council apologised for not responding to an email he had sent. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matter relates to Court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman