Southampton City Council (25 009 164)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Oct 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a housing benefit overpayment. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for this.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about a housing benefit overpayment from 2016. She says it is wrong, and she wants to dispute it. The Council says it will make deductions from her earnings. Ms X states she is disabled and this will cause her hardship.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X complained in 2025 about the Council’s recovery of a housing benefit overpayment. She said it was wrong, and she wanted to challenge it.
- The Council replied the overpayment was for a period ending in 2016. It said it was too late to appeal now as it was out of time. It asked Ms X to provide details of her income and expenses so it could agree an arrangement.
- We will not investigate this complaint because Ms X was aware of the overpayment more than 12 months ago. The complaint is therefore late and there are no good reasons for this.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman