Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about removal of a housing application from the housing register. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to remove her application from the housing register in 2020. She says the Council made errors in her application and she lost her previous residence eligibility as a result. She wants the Council to pace her back on the register from 2019 when she first applied.

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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. Miss X says she applied to the Housing register in 2019. In 2020 the Council told her she was ineligible to be on the register because she was considered to be adequately housed. Mis X asked for a statutory review of the decision and the Council caried this out in January 2020, the original decision was upheld. The Council says she then informed them she was living in a neighbouring borough and so her application was closed because she did not meet the residency qualification.
6. In 2022 Miss X made further enquiries about vacancies and the Council advised her that she did not qualify for the housing register because she had moved outside the borough and did not meet the residency criteria which includes 5 years unbroken residence. Miss X asked for the decision to be reviewed and this was carried out in November 2022 and the decision again upheld.
7. These matters took place more than 12 months before Miss X complained to us. It was reasonable for her to complain to us following the review of 2020 which upheld the decision to remove her from the housing register.

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Final decision

8. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about removal of a housing application from the housing register. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman