Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s tenant’s housing benefit. Any injustice would be to the tenant and not Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X, a landlord, complained the Council failed to pay his tenant their Housing Benefit and rent deposit.
2. As a result, Mr X said T was unable to pay their rent which has caused him financial hardship and distress.

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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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complains that failures by the Council to make regular payments of housing benefit to his tenant has resulted in them missing rental payments to him.
7. Any missed payments might result in an injustice to the tenant if this meant they were unable to pay their rent. In relation to Mr X however, it is part of the role of being a landlord to deal with situations such as missed rental payments from tenants which may naturally cause some time and trouble and stress. As a result even if there was fault in the payments to the tenant, it would result in a direct injustice to Mr X.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because even if there was fault, this would not have caused him an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman