Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to pay housing benefit directly to Mr X as a landlord in 2019-2020. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to pay a tenant’s housing benefit directly to him in 2019-2020 when the rent account was in arrears for almost a year. He says he lost income from his rental property as a result of the tenant failing to pay rent for which benefit was awarded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X is a commercial landlord and in 2019 one of his tenants fell into rent arrears. He says the Council failed to pay the rent directly to him as it was required to after 8 weeks. The Council says that he did not ask the Council to make direct payments at the time due to rent arrears. When the Council started making direct payments to him in July 2020 it says he did not challenge the date of the decision from when this should be paid.
6. Mr X was aware of his rights to appeal to the independent benefits tribunal and did so about other matters relating to the rent in 2020 and 2021. The judge at the tribunal specifically referred to why he had not asked for the period in question to be considered in the appeal.
7. Mr X made a formal complaint to the Council in early 2022 asking for compensation for the rent shortfall. The Council did not uphold his complaint and told him in April 2022 that it was reasonable for him to have appealed the matter at the time.
8. We will not investigate complaints about matters where the complainant was aware of the alleged fault more than 12 months before bringing the matter to our attention. In this case Mr X was aware of the rent arrears and payments to the tenant in 2019 and the complaint was investigated by the Council more than 12 months ago. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to pay housing benefit directly to Mr X as a landlord in 2019-2020. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman