Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s administration of Miss X’s housing benefit since 2022. She also complained about not being given sufficient housing advice 20 years ago. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s calculation of her benefit and suspension of it when her landlord changed in 2022. She says this resulted in her landlord talking possession proceedings. She also says she was not advised that she needed to complete a housing application 20 years ago and that the process was not automatic for someone on benefits.

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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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X says she had problems with her housing benefit changing in 2021 and 2022. She made several complaints about her benefit in 2021 and in May 2022 her housing benefit was suspended because she informed the Council her landlord had changed and it would not make direct payments until the landlord’s identity was verified.
6. She says the problems with her new landlord resulted in her being evicted following court proceedings. She says the Council failed to help her during the court action and even though she had help from a legal centre and housing advice she lost her home. Miss X made a formal complaint in July 2022. She took the matter to the final complaint stage in November 2023.
7. Miss X also complained about not being advised 20 years ago that she needed to complete a housing application. She understood this was automatic for someone on a low income receiving housing benefit and as a result did not apply until 2023. She says she lost valuable time on the housing register as a result. The Council told her that all people wishing to apply for housing need to complete an application and this has been unchanged in all councils for several decades. It could not comment on what happened 20 years ago.
8. We will not investigate this complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period. Miss X challenged the Council’s benefit procedure from 2021 and made a complaint in July 2022. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s administration of Miss X’s housing benefit since 2022. She also complained about not being given sufficient housing advice 20 years ago. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman