Overview
The complainant (Ms C) bought her present flat in a tenement in Edinburgh in September 2004. She raised a number of concerns about the issue and administration of statutory notices that were served on owners in June 2005 by The City of Edinburgh Council (the Council) under subsection 24(1) of the City of Edinburgh District Council Order Confirmation Act 1991. She was aggrieved that as an owner, the notices of June 2005 had not been served on her and that she was not alerted to the scale of her liability until September 2008.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) failed to inform Ms C as a co-owner of the service of statutory notices on 24 June 2005 (upheld);
- (b) and their agents failed to update Ms C on the progress of the works (upheld); and
- (c) delayed in serving the accounts for the works until September 2008 and failed to give Ms C appropriate opportunity to make financial arrangements (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) review their procedures in updating their database on property ownership to ensure that the database is current; and (ii) consider whether, given their failures to issue Ms C with the statutory notice and to directly update her, there is scope for them to commute part of their administration charge in respect of the contract.
The Council informed the Ombudsman that they accepted the findings in the report, and had set in place action in implementation of the recommendations including the waiving of a third of their administration charge.