Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council rejecting Mr X’s housing application due to former tenant arrears. This complaint 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 refusing to accept a housing application due to former tenant arrears from a previous tenancy . He says the arrears date back 20 years and are no longer recoverable through the courts so should not be used to discriminate against his new application.

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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. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X applied for housing to the Council in 2022. He was told that he is ineligible to be added to the housing register because he has former tenant arrears from a previous tenancy of over £900. The Council’s allocations policy says that it may refuse applicants who owe previous housing rent debts.
6. Mr X says he disputes the arrears and that they date back to 2002 when he was evicted from a former tenancy. He says the period for recovering the debt has expired and it is unreasonable to demand repayment or to block his application so long afterwards.
7. The Council says although the debt is irrecoverable in the courts due to the statute of limitations, it remains on his account and its housing policy allows it to require repayment before a housing application can be accepted.
8. Mr X challenged the debt when he applied for housing in 2010. The Council had served court letters for the debt in 2008 and passed the debt to recovery agents. The Council again prevented his application and sought to recover the debt from him as this was the first contact he made since 2001. Mr X made a formal complaint about the matter in 2011 but this was not upheld.
9. It was reasonable for Mr X to complain to us in 2011 when he made his previous complaint to the Council. I have seen no evidence to suggest that he could not have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council rejecting Mr X’s housing application due to former tenant arrears. This complaint 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