Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (202306436)

Background

1. 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

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s decision to demolish an extension.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found it is outside our jurisdiction to investigate the complaint.

Reasons

4. 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.