Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that in 2018 he found out the Council had given notice to terminate his mother’s tenancy. This is because his complaint is late and there are not good enough reasons for us to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr B, complained that in 2018 he found out the Council had given notice to terminate his mother’s tenancy. The landlord then evicted him from the property causing him to become homeless.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information Mr B provided. Mr B has had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mr B has complained about the Council’s actions when it was acting as deputy for his mother who lacked mental capacity to take certain decisions. Mr B said the Council failed to communicate and discuss matters with him before it decided to give notice to terminate his mother’s tenancy without warning.
6. When it replied to Mr B’s complaint the Council said by the time the Court of Protection granted deputyship in 2018, Mr B’s mother had been living in a care home for ten years. The tenancy of the property where Mr B lived was in his mother’s name. In April 2018 the landlord of the property wrote to Mr B to tell him the Council had given notice to terminate the tenancy of the property and he must give vacant possession.
7. Mr B has not complained to us in time about the Council giving notice to terminate his mother’s tenancy. As time goes by, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to investigate complaints effectively. There are not good enough reasons for us to exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint because the Council’s actions did not inevitably lead to Mr B becoming homeless. Once it had received notice to terminate the tenancy, it was for the landlord to decide whether to agree to Mr B succeeding to it or to proceed with seeking possession of the property. We cannot investigate the landlord’s actions.
8. Mr B made a homelessness application to the Council but he said the only option offered to him was a private rented property. He is seeking affordable social housing. But if a Council accepts the main housing duty under the provisions of the Housing Act 1996, it can secure housing for an applicant through a private landlord. It is unlikely we could achieve the outcome Mr B is seeking even if we did investigate his complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there are not good enough reasons for us to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman