| Publishing organisation: | Local Government Ombudsman |
| Topic: | Home ownership and leasehold, Tenancy management |
| Determination: | Maladministration causing injustice |
| Tenure: | Leasehold |
Organisation:
| LB of Lambeth |
| Country of relevance: | England |
| Report link: | Click here to view this document |
The London Borough of Lambeth failed to inform two of its tenants that it had become the freeholder of their block of flats in 2001, which would have enabled them to apply to purchase their flat at a lower price than when they did apply to buy it in 2005. The Ombudsman said: "The Council was clearly aware of the complainants’ interest in buying their flat. In all the circumstances of this particular case, its failure to inform them of the acquisition of the freehold was maladministration."
Mr and Mrs Waite (not their real name for legal reasons) were tenants of a council flat. In 2000 they applied to purchase it under the ‘right to buy’ legislation. However, the application was correctly refused by the Council as it did not own the freehold of the block of flats in question and the term of the lease had less than 50 years left to run.
They re-applied to buy the flat in 2005, after finding that their neighbours had bought their own flat and that the Council had acquired the freehold of the block of flats in 2001 – only six months after the Waites’ initial application to buy their flat. They complain that the Council was aware of their interest at that time and it should have advised them that they could then re-apply. They say that they would have then been able to apply to buy the flat at a significantly lower price than the valuation given in 2005 and that they would also have qualified for a larger discount on the purchase price.
Determination
The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice, and said: "I am satisfied that the complainants were specifically (and probably solely) disadvantaged as a result of the short period of time between the refusal of their first application and the date on which the Council acquired the freehold and after which a new application could have been considered."
He recommended that the Council should remedy the injustice that Mr and Mrs Waite have suffered by permitting them to purchase their flat now at a price of £62,000. Alternatively it should proceed with the offer made to them in 2006 and make them an ex-gratia payment to cover the difference between the two valuations.