Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council assessed her request for a Discretionary Housing Payment. Mrs X says this caused her distress and financial losses. We have found fault in the Councils actions for failing to confirm if Mrs X received either Housing Benefit or Universal Credit before making its decision. The Council has agreed to issue an apology and pay Mrs X a financial payment.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the way the Council assessed her request for a Discretionary Housing Payment.
2. Mrs X says this caused her distress and financial losses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mrs X and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision. I have l considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. A council can award discretionary housing payments (DHP) when someone needs help with housing costs and is claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit which includes housing costs towards rent. (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, section 2.3)
8. Government guidance allows councils to choose (discretion) when to offer a DHP; there is no statutory right to payment. However guidance says DHP decisions must follow the ordinary principles of good decision making. This means councils must act fairly, reasonably, and consistently, and must decide each case by considering individual circumstances. Councils can decide:

• what questions to ask applicants;
• what award to make (if any); and
• how long to make payments for.
  (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, sections 4.24 and 2.14)

9. The council must tell the applicant about its decision and explain its reasons if the decision is not to make a payment. The guidance says councils should make a decision as soon as it can and avoid unnecessary delay. The decision should tell the applicant how to ask for a review. (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, section 4.30 to 4.32)

What happened

10. Mrs X applied to the council for a DHP in early August 2023. The Council wrote to Mrs X a few days later to say it could not approve her DHP request as she was not receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. The letter the Council issued did not tell Mrs X she could review this decision.
11. Mrs X asked the Council to review the decision it made about her DHP request in October 2023 after finding out she could challenge the decision it had made.
12. The Council reviewed the decision in November 2023 and told Mrs X she still did not qualify as she was not receiving Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
13. Mrs X told the Council in November 2023 she was receiving Universal Credit and had been since around July 2023.
14. The Council reviewed Mrs X’s application for a DHP again in December 2023 and decided it would award a DHP covering July 2023 to January 2024. The Council wrote to Mrs X to explain this and told her it could not consider a claim for any rent arrears which had accrued from a period before she was receiving Universal Credit.
15. Mrs X contacted her MP in February 2024 as she said she had not received the DHP from the Council. The Council responded to Mrs X’s MP and explained it could not grant a DHP for the period before Mrs X was receiving Universal Credit.
16. Mrs X made a request for a further DHP in February 2024 which the Council granted for January 2024 to March 2024.
17. Mrs X raised a complaint with the Council in June 2024 about the way the Council had handled her DHP applications. Mrs X said had the Council awarded these sooner her landlord would not have taken legal action which had resulted in costs against her.
18. Mrs X then made another DHP request in June 2024.
19. The Council issued a response to Mrs X’s complaint early July 2024 which explained what had happened and asked for extra information about her latest DHP application. The Council confirmed it had paid Mrs X’s landlord for the amounts granted in the original application.
20. The Council also issued a further complaint response at the end of July 2024 which apologised for the delay in dealing with Mrs X’s application initially. It confirmed the reason for the DHP request being disallowed was because the Council believed Mrs X was not receiving Universal Credit or Housing Benefit when she made the application.
21. The Council issued a further decision in August 2024 which said it had disallowed Mrs X’s most recent request for a DHP again as she was not receiving Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
22. Mrs X emailed the complaints team at the Council to confirm it had disallowed her most recent application in early September 2024 and asked it included this in her complaint.
23. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint in mid-September 2024 and said it reached its original decision as the period the rent arrears related to was mainly focussed on before February 2023. The Council did acknowledge it could have checked when Mrs X began receiving Universal Credit sooner. The Council acknowledged a delay in acting when Mrs X confirmed she had been receiving Universal Credit since July 2023.
24. The Council also said it would remind officers to carry out thorough and up to date checks before deciding on any DHP applications.
25. The Council went on to say its early July 2024 complaint response did not tell Mrs X how she could escalate her complaint if she remained unhappy. The Council said it would highlight to officers to include these details in future.
26. The Council apologised and offered Mrs X £200 to recognise the unnecessary uncertainty and time and trouble caused to her. The Council has confirmed it paid Ms X this amount.
27. The Council wrote to Mrs X in mid-September to confirm it had awarded a DHP for April 2024 to August 2024.

Analysis

28. In response to my enquiries, the Council confirmed the first check it completed with the Department for Work and Pensions about whether Mrs X was receiving any benefit was in December 2023. This is fault.
29. Mrs X says the delay in completing this check led to her landlord taking action against her for unpaid rent arrears. I understand the rent arrears Mrs X referred to began accruing in February 2023 before she was receiving Universal Credit. Therefore, there is a period where rent arrears were accruing which the Council could not have issued a DHP to cover. I cannot say Mrs X’s landlord would not have chosen to act even if the Council had made a DHP sooner.
30. Had the Council completed a check when it first received Mrs X’s application for a DHP it would have shown she was receiving Universal Credit from July 2023. Mrs X has been caused distress and inconvenience and has been left with the feeling that had the Council acted differently her landlord may not have acted against her.
31. The Council failed to tell Mrs X she could challenge the decision it made in August 2023 to decline her application for a DHP. This is fault and caused Mrs X distress and inconvenience as she was not able to challenge the decision until she was made aware she could.
32. The Council then issued a further decision in August 2024 saying it would not award a DHP as Mrs X was not in receipt of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. The Council was aware Mrs X was in receipt of Universal Credit at that point and had been for over a year. This is fault and would have caused Mrs X further distress and inconvenience.
33. The Council failed to tell Mrs X how to escalate her complaint when it issued its complaint response in early July 2024. This is fault. However, Mrs X did escalate her complaint reasonably quickly and the Council issued a further complaint response which apologised for this. This is a suitable remedy to the fault identified.
34. The Council has said it has reminded its officers to make thorough and up to date checks and also include escalation details in complaint responses. I have therefore not made service improvement recommendations in these areas.

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Action

35. Within one month of a final decision, the Council should:

• Write to Mrs X to apologise for the faults identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Mrs X £400 to recognise the uncertainty, distress and inconvenience she suffered. This is to include the £200 the Council has already paid Ms X.
• Remind officers in writing to include details of whether or how decisions can be reviewed in decision letters.

36. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

37. I find fault causing injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman