Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on Mr X’s housing benefit entitlement. This is because Mr X has the right to appeal to a Tribunal and the Council agreed to restore Mr X’s appeal rights to enable him to appeal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council wrongly considered he was not entitled to housing benefit between 15 July and 5 September 2022 following a reconsideration of his claim. Mr X says this has caused financial loss as he now has rent arrears for that period.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. If we investigated Mr X’s complaint it is likely that we could find the Council to be at fault. This is because the Council did not notify Mr X of his right to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal following its reconsideration of his housing benefit claim in January 2025.
8. We therefore asked the Council to remedy the injustice caused by restoring Mr X’s appeal rights.

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Agreed Action

9. The Council agreed to restore Mr X’s appeal rights by referring his case to its appeals team within one month of my final decision. The Council will then refer Mr X’s case to the First Tier Tribunal. The Council also agreed, within one month of my final decision, to remind officers to refer cases to its appeals team if disputed decisions are not changed following a reconsideration request.
10. As the Council will restore Mr X’s appeal rights, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman