Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about backdating a housing benefit claim because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, says the Council never advised her she could get help with her rent. Ms X wants a rent refund for the last five years.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. People can claim housing benefit to help them pay their rent. A council can only award housing benefit if someone makes a claim and submits the supporting evidence. Housing benefit is means-tested. People who receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA), which is not means-tested, will not qualify for housing benefit if their income or capital is too high.
5. In 2016 Mrs X told the Council her husband had died. She asked for a housing benefit form. The Council told Mrs X she could pay rent of £50 a week until the claim had been assessed. The Council told Mrs X her rent may increase or decrease after the housing benefit had been assessed. Mrs X was receiving DLA.
6. Mrs X kept paying the full rent (not £50) and did not return the housing benefit claim form. In a letter to her MP Mrs X says she remembers being sent the form but was in a state of bereavement.
7. Mrs X claimed housing benefit in 2021 and the Council backdated the claim for the maximum period of three months.
8. Mrs X says she should get a rent refund from 2016 because she has been paying full rent and nobody told her she should not be paying rent because she receives disability benefits.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I appreciate Mrs X had been bereaved but she asked for a claim form and could have asked for help in completing it. Mrs X did not submit a claim until 2021 so the Council could not award benefit until 2021. If Mrs X had submitted the claim in 2016 she may have received benefit from 2016. But, without a claim, there was nothing for the Council to assess and the rules limit backdating to three months. In addition, being in receipt of disability benefits does not mean someone will always qualify for housing benefit. This can only be determined by submitting a claim.
10. In addition, Mrs X will have received council tax bills every year and the bills include information about claiming council tax support. This is a benefit which helps people pay their council tax. If Mrs X had applied for council tax support before 2021 then this would probably have led to an earlier claim for housing benefit. And, I have seen a letter Mrs X wrote in 2020 in which she says she does not qualify for housing benefit; I do not know why she thought this but it shows an awareness of the benefit that Mrs X could have applied for before 2021.

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Final decision

11. We will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman