Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council dealt with her requests for financial support. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the way the Council dealt with her requests for financial support. She says the Council:
1. failed to provide council tax support and forced her to pay the full amount despite her being eligible for exemptions;
2. failed to grant discretionary housing payment and housing benefit, despite her fleeing domestic abuse;
3. wrongly refused her application to the exceptional hardship fund; and
4. poorly responded to her complaints.
2. Ms X says this has caused her significant financial distress and worsened her mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
7. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

8. Some of the events related to this complaint happened more than 12 months before Ms X complained to us, in September 2025. I have not seen any good reason why Ms X did not complain to us sooner. So, my investigation will start from September 2024, which is 12 months before she complained to us.
9. The end date of my investigation is September 2025, which is when Ms X complained to the Ombudsman.
10. There are other matters that I have not investigated. I have explained the reasons why in paragraphs 36 and 40. Apart from these, I have investigated the remainder of Ms X’s complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

11. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
12. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

Housing benefit

13. The Council manages and pays housing benefit which helps eligible people on low incomes pay their rent. Regulations set out the rules councils must follow for calculating and paying housing benefit. Usually the Council pays the tenant housing benefit. The tenant is then responsible for paying the rent to their landlord.

Council tax reduction/support

14. Council tax reduction (CTR, also known as council tax support) is a discount, not a benefit. It reduces the amount of council tax a person has to pay.

Discretionary housing payments

15. A council can award discretionary housing payments (DHP) when someone needs help with housing costs and is claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit which includes housing costs towards rent. (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, section 2.3). Universal Credit is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions.
16. Government guidance allows councils to choose (discretion) when to offer a DHP; there is no statutory right to payment. However, guidance says DHP decisions must follow the ordinary principles of good decision making. This means councils must act fairly, reasonably, and consistently, and must decide each case by considering individual circumstances. Councils can decide:

• what questions to ask applicants;
• what award to make (if any); and
• how long to make payments for.
  (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, sections 4.24 and 2.14)

17. The council must tell the applicant about its decision and explain its reasons if the decision is not to make a payment. The guidance says councils should make a decision as soon as it can and avoid unnecessary delay. The decision should tell the applicant how to ask for a review. (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, section 4.30 to 4.32)

Exceptional hardship fund

18. The Council runs an exceptional hardship fund scheme for an applicant that may suffer exceptional hardship if they do not receive financial assistance. This short-term funding is only available where hardship arises as a direct consequence of the council tax reduction scheme.

What happened?

19. In April 2025, Ms X complained to the Council about its handling of housing benefit and council tax matters dating back to 2023. She said she was a vulnerable and disabled applicant who had experienced domestic abuse. She complained the Council failed to consider these circumstances and wrongly chased her for council tax liability.
20. In early June, Ms X sent new applications for the exceptional hardship fund, housing benefit, council tax reduction scheme and for discretionary housing payment. She did not fully complete the discretionary housing payment application form, leaving several sections blank.
21. A week later, the Council wrote to Ms X about her applications. It asked her to provide several documents within four weeks so it could assess her applications. The Council also explained that if she did not provide the requested information, it might decide that she was not eligible for support.
22. In mid-June, the Council responded to Ms X's stage one complaint. It said it had reviewed her council tax account and had sent her application forms for council tax reduction and the exceptional hardship scheme several times over the years. The Council explained that it had been unable to award either form of support because Ms X had not provided the information it had requested.
23. The Council also noted that Ms X had made further applications in early June, which it would consider, but she would need to provide the information it had asked for before it could process them.
24. Ms X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two shortly afterwards.
25. In mid-July, the Council responded to her stage two complaint. It said it had provided her with support and advice, including helping her make an application for a discretionary housing payment in April 2025 to help clear her rent arrears. The Council explained that it later decided she was not eligible for this payment because discretionary housing payments are intended to help prevent eviction, and in Ms X's case her landlord was selling the property, so clearing the rent arrears would not have stopped her from having to leave. The Council also said she was not eligible because she was not receiving the housing element of Universal Credit when she made the application.
26. It also explained, in response to Ms X's complaint the Council had failed to support her, that it was her responsibility to apply for waivers and financial support.
27. A few days later, the Council closed Ms X’s application for a discretionary housing payment because she failed to send the information it requested.
28. The Council wrote to Ms X again at the end of August, noting that despite its requests, Ms X had not supplied the requested information. It therefore decided she did not qualify for housing benefit and council tax reduction, as it could not verify her income, savings and household composition. It noted if she disagreed with the decision, she could ask for a review within one month.
29. Two days later, Ms X told the Council that it already held, or could access through its own systems, all the information it needed about her income, savings, household and personal circumstances. She said she had provided this information several times before and should not have to supply it again. Ms X also explained that her documents were packed away in sealed boxes because she was facing imminent eviction and could not easily access them. She said the Council's repeated requests for information were unnecessary, were causing her distress, and amounted to discrimination and harassment.
30. The Council replied in mid-September noting that even if Ms X’s information was held elsewhere within the Council, it could not be routinely shared across departments, because data cannot be used for a purpose other than which it was originally obtained. It agreed that decisions it made about her housing benefit were correct and she remained ineligible based on information she shared.
31. The Council also explained that it could only consider an application to the exceptional hardship fund after it had decided whether someone was entitled to council tax reduction. It said that both council tax reduction and the exceptional hardship fund are based on a person's financial circumstances, so it needed details and evidence about household income, spending and any steps taken to reduce outgoings.
32. The Council said that because Ms X did not provide the additional information it requested, it could not assess her entitlement, and she did not qualify for council tax reduction and in turn an exceptional hardship payment.
33. The Council told her it could not reconsider its housing benefit and council tax reduction decision, but she could send a request for a review within one month and she would have a right to appeal to a tribunal.
34. The Council wrote to Ms X a few days later with its decision on her exceptional hardship award application. It decided it could not consider her request because she failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her application. It noted her right to review the decision.

Findings

The Council failed to provide council tax support and forced her to pay the full amount despite her being eligible for exemptions

35. I have not investigated Ms X's complaint about the Council's decision not to award her council tax support. This is because she had the right to appeal that decision to the Valuation Tribunal, an independent body that can consider such disputes and whose decisions the Council must follow.
36. The Council told Ms X about her right to appeal in September 2025. If she disagreed with the Council’s decision, or with being required to pay the full amount of council tax, it would have been reasonable for her to appeal to the Tribunal. So, I have not investigated this part of the complaint.

The Council failed to grant discretionary housing payment and housing benefit, despite her fleeing domestic abuse

37. When Ms X applied for a discretionary housing payment in June 2025, she did not complete all parts of the application form. The Council then asked her for more information. Because Ms X did not provide the information requested, the Council closed her application in July 2025.
38. I understand that Ms X believes the Council's request for further information was excessive and unnecessary. However, the Council was entitled to ask for information it considered necessary to assess whether she qualified for the payment. So, I have not found fault in the Council's actions.
39. Even if Ms X had provided full information, it is unlikely she would have been eligible because entitlement to a discretionary housing payment depends on the applicant having a payment of housing benefit and/or universal credit with the housing element. There is no evidence that Ms X was in receipt of any of these at the time of her application.
40. I have also not investigated Ms X's complaint about the Council's decision regarding her housing benefit application. This is because she had a right of appeal to an independent tribunal. The Council informed Ms X of this right in September 2025, and it would have been reasonable for her to use the appeal process if she disagreed with the Council's decision. Therefore, I have not investigated this part of her complaint.

The Council wrongly refused her application to the exceptional hardship fund

41. In September 2025, the Council refused Ms X's application to the exceptional hardship fund because she had not provided the additional information it had requested.
42. As with her discretionary housing payment application, Ms X felt the Council's requests for further information were excessive and unnecessary.
43. However, the Council was entitled to ask for information it considered necessary to assess whether Ms X qualified for the fund. When Ms X did not provide the information requested, the Council was unable to assess her application. For this reason, I have not found fault in the Council's decision to request further information or to refuse the application when that information was not provided.

The Council poorly responded to her complaints

44. There is no evidence the Council poorly responded to Ms X’s complaints. It responded promptly these and covered all her complaint points. I find no fault in the actions of the Council related to this matter.

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Decision

45. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman