Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed taking action to ensure her neighbour’s property was safe. We find the Council at fault for failing to communicate with Ms X about these delays. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to acknowledge the uncertainty this caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council delayed taking action against her neighbours, after she reported dangerous alterations to their property. Ms X says this meant her family was unable to live in their property, which impacted their mental health. Ms X wanted the Council to ensure the matter was resolved.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by both Ms X and the Council.
5. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant background

6. Councils have extensive powers to protect the public, ranging from checking building works for compliance with Building Regulations, and requiring or carrying out emergency works to make buildings safe.
7. Councils’ powers to control building safety are found in The Building Act 1984, (as amended by The Building Safety Act 2022), the primary legislation under which the Building Regulations and other secondary legislation are made. 
8. A council may take action to protect the public if it considers a building or structure in its area to be unsafe. Councils may order works to improve defective, dangerous, or dilapidated buildings or structures, by issuing a Section 77 Notice. This asks the owner to make repairs within a reasonable time. If the building owner does not comply with the order, the council may carry out the works and charge for its costs.

What happened

9. In July 2023 Ms X contacted the Council to report an issue with a neighbouring property, attached to her home. Ms X had concerns about the safety of building work her neighbour had undertaken. She told the Council that nobody was living at her address at that time.
10. The same day a building control officer visited Ms X’s neighbour and identified there was a safety issue. However, the Council says it did not consider severe enough to justify serving a notice that day. Instead, it gave the neighbour time to resolve the issue informally.
11. In August, the Council emailed Ms X to confirm it was in the process of typing up a Section 77 notice.
12. In September the Council visited Ms X’s neighbour and found they had not taken any action to fix the problem. The Council served the Section 77 Notice, advising them of the work that needed to be done.
13. That month, Ms X complained to the Council about the lack of progress. The Council responded in October. It confirmed it had passed this to its legal department, as Ms X’s neighbour had not completed the work.
14. In November, a building control officer visited Ms X’s neighbour again and found the work had not been completed. The Council advised them the next step would be court action. During this visit the building control officer noted that Ms X was having extensive work done at her own property. The Council says this work, in part, prevented Ms X from living in her home.
15. In December the Council got legal advice in preparation for prosecution, as Ms X’s neighbour had not completed the work. However, the Council says there was a large adverse weather event that month, which led to significant work for the building control team. It says the response, rebuilding and clear up operation took months, and led to delays in Ms X’s case.
16. In April 2024, Ms X came to the Ombudsman as she felt there had been a delay. She said the delay had prevented her from living in her home.
17. In early May the Council advised Ms X that her property was safe to occupy. Ms X says that she moved back in a month later.

Analysis

18. After Ms X reported an issue with her neighbour’s property, the Council acted on this information swiftly. It visited the neighbouring property, identified the issue and gave Ms X’s neighbour an opportunity to try and resolve the issue informally. When it became clear no progress had been made, the Council issued a Section 77 notice. These actions were reasonable.
19. However, there were periods between December 2023 and May 2024 when there was no progress. The Council says this was partly due to dealing with an adverse weather event in the local area. Whilst this may account, in part, for the delay, this was not communicated to Ms X. This lack of communication is fault and caused uncertainty for Ms X, which is injustice.
20. Ms X says the delay meant she was unable to live in her home. The Council says Ms X could not live there because of building work. Ms X has confirmed that she was having building work done during this time.
21. When Ms X first reported the issue to the Council, she explained that nobody was living at the property. This was before she was made aware of any safety issues. Ms X has also confirmed that she moved back home a month after the Council told her it was safe to do so. Therefore, it is not clear whether Ms X was living elsewhere solely because of the safety issues with the neighbouring property, and I cannot say whether Ms X would have moved back any earlier if the work had been completed earlier.

Back to top

Agreed action

22. To remedy the injustice to Ms X from the fault identified above, the Council has agreed to:
23. Within one month:
• Apologise to Ms X in writing, in line with our guidance on apologies.
• Pay Ms X £100 to acknowledge the uncertainty caused by the lack of communication about delays.
24. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

25. I find the Council at fault for failing to communicate with Ms X about delays. The Council has accepted the recommendations set out above and I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman