Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to deal with Mr X’s housing benefit or discretionary housing payment claim. We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint about unpaid council tax being referred to court. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X regarding some issues and we are satisfied with the action or proposed action by the Council in relation to others. In addition, we cannot consider the commencement or conduct of court proceedings and Mr X could reasonably use his appeal rights regarding the council tax.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained the Council:
• failed to advise if he would receive housing benefit after December 2021;
• failed to respond to him regarding a discretionary housing payment (DHP) application in 2021;
• did not provide accurate information online about payments;
• did not tell him it was paying his housing benefit to his landlord; and
• took court action because of unpaid council tax.
2. He says this has caused inconvenience and financial difficulty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

4. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
7. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal 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 appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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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. Mr X says the Council did not communicate with him after December 2021 about his housing benefit. I have seen communications from the Council to Mr X on this subject from March 2022 onwards. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council here.
11. Mr X has complained that the Council did not respond to his request for additional help with his housing costs in December 2021. I understand that relates to a request for a DHP. The Council says it has no record of a request at that time. We are unlikely to be able to reach a clear enough view on this point.
12. The Council accepts Mr X applied for DHP in August 2022, but it took no action on this until February 2023. The Council apologised and offered to review the matter. It then asked Mr X for more information so it could complete the review. However, Mr X has not provided the information the Council wants. So, we cannot currently say that, if the Council had avoided the five-month delay, it would have been able to decide whether to give Mr X a DHP. I am satisfied with the action the Council proposed to take at this stage. We cannot hold the Council responsible for not completing the review if it has not been provided with the information to allow it to do so.
13. Mr X complained that an online account to track payments was showing incorrect information. The Council has acknowledged this and advised it has taken action to resolve the issue for Mr X and others. I am satisfied with the action the Council proposed to take. It is unlikely we would recommend more.
14. Mr X says the Council did not tell him it was paying his housing benefit to his landlord. He says he therefore paid his rent to the landlord, meaning the landlord was paid twice, but the landlord has not reimbursed him. Any injustice to Mr X in terms of financial loss did not result directly from the Council’s action. It resulted from the landlord not repaying Mr X. Rather it is a matter between Mr X and his landlord. The Council’s duty was to pay the housing benefit in line with the law and Mr X’s previous instructions, which it has done.
15. We cannot consider the court action regarding unpaid Council Tax, as paragraph 5 explains.
16. If Mr X is dissatisfied with the Council not giving him help towards his council tax, or if he believes the Council has demanded the wrong amount of council tax, he had the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. That is the appropriate route for such disagreements. The Tribunal can make a binding order on the Council if it sees fit, which we cannot. So, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to use his right to go to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or significant enough injustice to Mr X;
• we cannot consider the court action; and
• Mr X could reasonably use his appeal rights regarding the council tax issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman