Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application in 2016. 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. We will not investigate the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s current application because it is reasonable for him to ask for a statutory review of the Council’s decision.

The complaint

Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to remove his application from the housing register in 2016 following a request for details about his marital status which it says he failed to provide. He says he complained about the decision on his application at the time and for the following eight years afterwards without success.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

1. 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)
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 it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X applied to the Council’s housing register in 2015 when he was sharing a home with a relative. In May 2016 the Council informed him that it had been made aware of a change in his marital status which affected his application. It asked him to provide documentary evidence of this and suspended his application. Mr X says he refuted the claim and that he could not provide documents which he did not have.
6. When he did not receive a satisfactory outcome he submitted a formal complaint in July 2016. He says despite frequent contact with the Council over the following years he did not receive a satisfactory response to his complaint until it was completed in 2023 and he was referred to us.
7. We will not investigate this complaint which was submitted to us outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
8. Mr X has complained about his current application banding which is Band C and low priority. The Council says this is because he is adequately housed at present. If someone wants to challenge a council’s assessment of their housing application they can ask for a statutory review under s.166A of the housing Act 1996. It is reasonable for Mr X to pursue this course of action.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application in 2016. 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. We will not investigate the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s current application because it is reasonable for him to ask for a statutory review of the Council’s decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman