Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council misplacing Mr X’s housing application. This is because an investigation would not lead to any different outcomes or findings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council misplaced his housing application. He says the Council failed to provide him with the service it should have and failed to support him with housing.

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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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• investigation would not lead to a different findings or outcomes.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X previously made applications to join the Council’s housing register in 2018, 2021, and 2022. We have not considered the Council’s actions in relations to these applications as Mr X did not bring his complaint to us within 12 months of being aware of the concerns, and there are no good reasons for why he was not able to complain earlier.
7. Therefore, we have only considered the Council’s actions in relation to his housing register application made March 2023.
8. In its complaint response, the Council accepted Mr X submitted a housing register application in March 2023. There was some confusion as in June 2023, the Council asked Mr X’s wife to complete a new application form as the Council said it could not locate Mr X’s application form. The Council later confirmed it did have a copy of the March 2023 application and it was unclear why Mr X had been told his application could not be found.
9. The Council appropriately apologised for the confusion caused by its administration error.
10. Mr X submitted a new application form in July 2023. This application form detailed a different current address than what was listed on the March 2023 application form. The Council said Mr X’s tenancy for his current address started in October 2022.
11. The Council assessed Mr X’s application and issued its decision in August 2023. This confirmed Mr X was not eligible to join the housing register as he had no housing need because he had accommodation available for occupation which was suitable for his needs.
12. Even if the March application had been assessed, I am satisfied Mr X would be in the same position as he is now as he would still not have been eligible to join the housing register. This is because Mr X would not have had a housing need as he moved into the accommodation which was suitable for his needs in October 2022.
13. Therefore, the accepted fault did not cause any significant injustice to Mr X and an investigation is not justified as it would not lead to any different outcomes or findings.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would not lead to any different outcomes or findings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman