Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to accept Miss X onto the housing register or to provide interim accommodation. That is because there were review rights that Miss X could have used.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision not to accept her onto its housing register or provide her with accommodation after she became homeless. She said she had been experiencing difficulties with the Council since 2019.
2. She said the Council’s actions had resulted in her sleeping in her car and hotels. She wants the Council to provide housing that meets her needs and to pay her compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X applied to the Council for housing in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The Council wrote to Miss X following each application. It told her she had not been accepted onto the housing register and that she could ask for a review of its decision. Miss X‘s complaints about how the Council dealt with these early housing applications are late. It was reasonable for Miss X to come to us sooner, if she were unhappy about how the Council has dealt with these applications.
9. Miss X approached the Council again at the end of 2021 after she was evicted. The Council completed a homelessness assessment and accepted it owed her a relief duty. It did not assess her as having a priority need so did not offer interim accommodation. The Council’s letter to Miss X informed her of her review rights if she disagreed with that decision. Miss X did not ask for a review.
10. Miss X also made a further application to join the Council’s housing register. The Council wrote to Miss X and told her it had not accepted her application. It said she could ask for a review.
11. It would have been reasonable for Miss X to ask the Council to review its decision about her homelessness or housing register application if she were unhappy with the outcome. Miss X would also of had the right to appeal the Council’s homelessness decision to county court. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint further as Miss X could have used the review process available to her. The Council has confirmed it is currently assessing a further housing application for Miss X. She can ask the Council for a review if she disagrees with the outcome of that assessment.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for her to ask the Council for a review of its housing decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman