THE State Ombudsman has found Mount Gambier City Council failed to ensure a certificate of occupancy was issued for a commercial building.
The ombudsman investigated a complaint by tenants running a business from the commercial building who were forced to close their business after learning their occupation of the building was illegal because no certificate of occupancy had been issued.
Under the Development Act, the owner of a commercial building must inform the council when construction of the building is complete with a statement of compliance before the council issues a certificate of occupancy, at which point it is legal to occupy the building.
The ombudsman found the council became aware in 2011 the building had not had a certificate of occupancy issued, yet failed to take appropriate action to ensure it had sighted a statement of compliance and then issue a certificate of occupancy.
By failing to issue an occupancy certificate until 2017, the ombudsman found the council had acted in a manner that was wrong within the meaning of the Ombudsman Act 1972.
The council also failed to take any action or make a record of the conversations when the complainants approached the council with issues regarding the safety and compliance of the building.
Further, the owner of the commercial building had an annual obligation to return an Essential Safety Provisions Form 3.
Between 2010 and 2016, the owner of the commercial building supplied only one of the forms to the council.
The ombudsman recommended council implement a policy to ensure staff take appropriate follow up action to ensure the forms are being submitted by commercial building owners.
The ombudsman also recommended council implement a policy to ensure requests for service are properly actioned and recorded.
