Overview
The complainants (Mr C and Ms D) purchased a commercial property on the ground floor of a tenement block in Edinburgh in the autumn of 2004. In the subsequent three and a half years, they received no communication from The City of Edinburgh Council (the Council). On 7 April 2008 they received accounts from the Council for nearly £7,600 in respect of works instructed under notices issued by the Council under the City of Edinburgh District Council Order Confirmation Act 1991. Mr C and Ms D raised a number of concerns about the Council's handling of the matter.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) failed to serve Mr C and Ms D as part owners of the tenement with statutory notices issued on 13 October 2004 (not upheld);
- (b) failed to update their records on ownership and keep Mr C and Ms D informed of progress on the contract (upheld); and
- (c) failed to respond sympathetically to Mr C and Ms D's request to be given sufficient time to pay accounts for nearly £7,600 of which they had no prior forewarning (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that:
- (i) the statutory notice intimation and relevant subsequent correspondence include an appropriate statement for the recipient to contact the Council to alert them to any change in ownership;
- (ii) in the case of commercial properties included in statutory notices, Corporate Property and Contingency Planning institute a practice of checking with the Scottish Assessors Association website to ascertain whether there has been a pertinent recent change of ownership which would require them to update their ownership records; and
- (iii) in the light of the failure to communicate with Mr C and Ms D and update them, the Council consider whether it is appropriate to levy the full administration charge.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and have acted on them accordingly.