Southampton City Council · Case 202431015 · 10 November 2025
Southampton City Council — case 202431015
The resident leaseholder complained that the heating and heating administration portion of their service charges was too high and calculated unreasonably. The Ombudsman determined the complaint was outside its jurisdiction, as it may not investigate the level or reasonableness of service charges, which are for the courts or First-tier Tribunal.
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
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Level and reasonableness of the heating and heating administration portion of service charges
Outside jurisdictionThe complaint concerns the level of the heating charge apportioned to the resident's property and the reasonableness of heating and hot water administration costs. The Ombudsman may not investigate complaints about the level or reasonableness of service charges; the courts or First-tier Tribunal are best placed to consider these concerns, so the complaint was not investigated.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202431015 Decision type Investigation Landlord Southampton City Council Landlord type Local Authority / ALMO or TMO Occupancy Leaseholder Date 10 November 2025 Background The resident is a leaseholder of the landlord. The property is served by a district heating network, shared by over 200 other properties. The cost of the resident’s energy is paid for by way of monthly service charges. The resident complained that the level of these charges was too high and that the way the charges were calculated was unreasonable.
What the complaint is about The complaint is about the level and reasonableness of the heating and heating administration portion of the resident’s service charges. Our decision (determination) The complaint about the level and reasonableness of the heating and heating administration portion of the resident’s service charges is outside of our jurisdiction to consider. Summary of reasons We may not investigate complaints about the level or reasonableness of service charges. The resident’s complaint is that the level of the charge apportioned to his property is too high and that the costs charged for the administration of heating and hot water is unreasonable.
The courts or first-tier tribunal are best placed to consider the resident’s concerns. For this reason, we have not investigated the complaint. Complaint The level and reasonableness of the heating and heating administration portion of the resident’s service charges.
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.