Summary: We will not investigate this complaint from a landlord about her tenant’s housing benefit. This is because it is a late complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council did not pay her tenant’s housing benefit to her, as the landlord, despite Mrs X telling the Council the tenant had rent arrears. Mrs X says the Council is responsible for the loss of rental income from October 2019 to June 2020.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I considered our Assessment Code and comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Housing benefit is usually paid to tenants. It is the responsibility of the tenant to pay their rent regardless of whether they receive housing benefit. The Council can pay the housing benefit to the landlord if the landlord provides evidence the tenant has rent arrears of at least eight weeks.
6. Housing benefit is being replaced by Universal Credit (UC). When someone receives UC they get help with their rent through UC and no longer receive housing benefit. UC is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP can arrange for the housing costs to be paid to a landlord and can arrange deductions for rent arrears.
7. Mrs X’s tenant’s housing benefit ended in April 2019 because she moved to UC. In June 2019 the Council told Mrs X that the housing benefit had ended in April. Mrs X disputes this and wants to see proof the Council informed her.
8. The DWP paid the housing costs to Mrs X from May 2020. In March and July 2020, the Council suggested Mrs X contact the DWP about UC deductions for the arrears. It also suggested Mrs X seek payment of the arrears from the tenant as part of the possession proceedings. The Council signposted Mrs X to us in July 2020.
9. Mrs X says she told the Council her tenant was in arrears from October 2019. She says the Council was required to pay the housing benefit to her under the eight week rule. Mrs X says the Council should pay the rent arrears from October 2019 to June 2020. She says the Council was obliged to help because Mrs X used a rent guarantee scheme in 2011 when the tenant started the tenancy.
10. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The housing benefit ended in April 2019. There was no housing benefit claim after April 2019 so the eight week rule did not apply. It was the tenant, not the Council, who was responsible for paying the rent and the rent guarantee scheme covered damage caused to the property. The guarantee did not say the Council was responsible for any rent arrears. The Council also gave Mrs X advice about seeking payment of the arrears through the courts or seeking payment through deductions from the DWP.
11. I also will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. The Council told Mrs X in 2019 that the housing benefit had ended in April and repeated that information in July 2020. If Mrs X disagreed the information was provided in 2019, she could have complained in 2020. But, Mrs X did not complain to us until 2022. Mrs X says she could not have complained before March 2021 due to COVID restrictions but she still waited another year. In addition, she complained to us in 2021 about related issues but did not complain about the housing benefit until April 2022. I have not seen any good reason to accept such a late complaint, especially as there is no suggestion of fault.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because it is a late complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman