Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council met Mr X’s housing and social care needs. That is because we have previously considered most of Mr X’s complaints and there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council has dealt with more recent matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council had dealt with his housing and adult social care support needs since 2012. He said the Council had:
• Offered him a tenancy on a property that was not suitable.
• Not ended his tenancy after he asked the Council to end it.
• Not completed an independent Adult Social Care (ASC) assessment as agreed.
• Refused his request for a blue badge.
2. Mr X wants the Council to reinstate his place on the housing register, complete an ASC assessment, provide a blue badge and provide financial compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
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)
6. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
7. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about how the Council dealt with his housing and adult social care needs up until the start of 2022. We have previously considered these matters and issued a final decision. We will not reinvestigate matters we have previously considered.
11. The Council offered Mr X a tenancy in March 2022. Mr X asked for a suitability review. The Council completed that in June 2022. Mr X then signed a tenancy agreement in December 2022. Mr X returned the keys shortly after because of disrepair. Mr X said at that point, the Council agreed to rescind the tenancy on the property. The Council said it had not rescinded the tenancy and it had discharged its housing duty to Mr X.
12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about the suitability of the property provided or that the Council has not rescinded the tenancy. That is because:
• The complaint about the suitability of accommodation is late. We expect a person to complain to us within twelve months if they think the Council has done something wrong. Mr X did not complain to us about the suitability of the property until January 2024. It was reasonable for him to complain to us sooner.
• In addition, the Council completed a review of the suitability of the property. It told Mr X if he disagreed with the outcome of that review, he could appeal to the County Court. It was reasonable for Mr X to use his appeal rights.
• Any complaints Mr X has about the disrepair of the property and the Council’s decision not to end his tenancy are for the Housing Ombudsman. That is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints where the Council is acting as a social landlord.
13. The Council’s complaint response confirmed it agreed to commission an Independent Care Act assessment for Mr X at the start of 2023. It said it was copied into communication between Mr X and the assessing Social Worker. In this, it said Mr X placed unreasonable demands on the Social Worker. It said as Mr X did not cooperate with the assessment process it discharged its care duty to him. The Council has set out its reasons for not completing the Adult Social Care assessment; there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council will not issue him a blue badge. The Council said Mr X has provided no evidence he is currently living in its area. His tenancy is in a different area. The Council confirmed he had a blue badge issued by that area in 2023. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to justify our involvement. If Mr X has proof that he is currently living in the Council’s area, he needs to provide that to the Council alongside his blude badge application.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have previously considered most of Mr X’s complaints and there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council has dealt with more recent matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman