Overview
Mrs C complained to Renfrewshire Council (the Council) about the condition of a neighbouring property in January 2006. The Council) issued a defective building notice (the Notice) on this property in February 2006. Mrs C was unhappy that the Council did not enforce the Notice when her neighbour did not undertake the work within the time specified. She also said that she had difficulty pursuing her complaint about this and she was also unhappy that the Council had not kept her informed of progress.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council did not:
- (a) enforce the Notice (not upheld);
- (b) inform Mrs C of their actions in relation to the Notice (not upheld); and
- (c) respond appropriately to Mrs C's concerns (partially upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) arrange regular reviews of the effectiveness of their policy on issuing and enforcing defective building notices;
- (ii) consider whether they should provide more information to members of the public about such notices and, in particular, what is likely to happen when a notice is issued; and
- (iii) reinforce in their guidance to staff that they should ensure the Council respond as a whole organisation to complaints when issues raised affect more than one department.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.