Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s offer of accommodation which Mr X says was unsuitable for his needs. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We will not exercise discretion to investigate earlier events related to an investigation we decided in 2021. 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 allocating him a property which he says proved to be unsuitable for his needs once he started living there. He also complained about the Council’s failure to compensate him for an earlier complaint which he made to us in 2020.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

3. 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 provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the 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 says the Council did not compensate him for its delays in dealing with his transfer application from 2019. He made a complaint to us about this in 2020 and we decided the complaint in 2021. The Council agreed with our recommendations and says it complied at the time. Mr X complained about the Council’s actions in 2022 to a housing charity but did not raise the matter with us until December 2023. This is 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.
7. Mr X also complained about the property which the Council allocated to him in May 2023. He accepted the offer but when he moved in found the property was unsuitable for his medical needs. He asked the Council to carry out a statutory review of the suitability of the accommodation. The procedure should take 8 weeks but councils are able to extend this if it is agreed that more information is needed.
8. Mr X’s case required an assessment by an Occupational Therapist and this was not completed until September. The Council upheld Mr X’s review request and agreed the property was not suitable. His housing application was re-instated to where it was before the offer but his banding has not yet been confirmed because he has not provided information which the Council has requested from him. If he provides the information and disagrees with the banding, he will retain a right to have the banding decision reviewed.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. The Council considered all relevant considerations, did not consider any irrelevant considerations, and its conclusions were rational. Therefore I cannot consider the merits of the decision it made.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s offer of accommodation which Mr X says was unsuitable for his needs. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We will not exercise discretion to investigate earlier events related to an investigation we decided in 2021. 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