Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council · Case 202306436 · 22 October 2025
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council — case 202306436
The complaint concerned the landlord's decision to demolish an unsafe extension at the rear of the resident's property and to charge for its removal. The Ombudsman found the complaint outside its jurisdiction because the matters were inextricably linked to court proceedings in which the landlord obtained an injunction requiring access to demolish the structure.
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
-
Landlord's decision to demolish an extension
Outside jurisdictionThe Ombudsman found it had no power to investigate. Court proceedings determined on 20 August 2025 related to an injunction application brought by the landlord; the court granted an injunction requiring the resident to provide continuous access until the structure was demolished. This decision is inextricably linked to the complaint, and the matters could not be investigated without considering the same matters the court looked at.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202306436 Decision type Jurisdiction Landlord Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Landlord type Local Authority / ALMO or TMO Occupancy Secure Tenancy Date 22 October 2025 Background The landlord told the resident it intended to demolish an extension at the rear of her property as it was unsafe and a fire hazard. It said it would charge her for the removal cost as it had never given permission for the extension to be built. The resident complained about this but the landlord would not change its position.
She referred her complaint to us. Following this, the landlord initiated court action seeking an injunction for access to demolish the extension. What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s decision to demolish an extension. Our decision (determination) We have found it is outside our jurisdiction to investigate the complaint. Reasons We cannot investigate issues which are also subject to legal proceedings or where matters at court are connected so closely to the complaint, they cannot be separated.
In this case, we can see legal proceedings were determined by the court on 20 August 2025. The matters at court related to an injunction application brought by the landlord. The court granted the injunction which required the resident to provide continuous access to the landlord until it had demolished the structure. This decision is inextricably linked to her complaint. We cannot investigate the complaint without considering the same matters the court would also have looked at.
That means we have no power to investigate the complaint.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.