Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about housing provided by the Council. Most of the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now. There is not enough evidence of fault in more recent events to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about how the Council rehoused her in 2016. She said the property it gave her was not suitable for her health needs and left her at risk of domestic abuse. She said that resulted in the breakdown of her family, meaning that one bedroom was empty, which she was subsequently charged ‘bedroom tax’ for. She said that room was too small to be considered a bedroom. She said when responding to her complaint, the Council only held her housing records from 2018.
2. Miss X said the Council’s actions over the past seven years had caused trauma. She wants it to remove arrears arising from the ‘bedroom tax’ develop its services for those fleeing domestic abuse, pay her compensation and apologise.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
6. 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
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council housed her in 2016 or the suitability of that property. That is because Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman until March 2024. Therefore, any complaints about the Council’s actions before March 2023 are late. There are no good reasons to exercise our discretion to consider these matters now.
10. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint the spare bedroom in the property was too small so should be exempt from ‘bedroom tax’. The Council has said the designation of the room was a decision for the Landlord. We cannot investigate the actions of landlords or social housing providers.
11. In the Council’s complaint response, it said it received information Miss X was at risk of domestic abuse at the start of 2023. It said it offered Miss X alternative accommodation which she refused. Although it is unclear whether the Council considered its homelessness duty when it learnt Miss X was at risk from domestic abuse in 2023, it did offer her alternative accommodation. Therefore, there is nothing to suggest the Council’s response to this information caused Miss X a significant injustice.
12. Miss X is unhappy with the length of time it has taken to secure a new property through the Council’s housing register. The Ombudsman recognises that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy.
13. The Council said Miss X had the highest priority on the housing register. It considered whether to allocate a property through direct let but was confident she had a high likelihood of securing a property through bidding. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council awarded Miss X’s priority or administered the housing register. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
14. In its complaint response the Council said it only stored people’s personal information for up to five years in line with data policy. It said that meant when she complained in 2023, it only had records dating back to 2018. We would not be critical of the Council following its data policy. If Miss X believes the Council’s data protection policy is flawed, that would be a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because most of the complaint is late. There is not enough evidence of fault to investigate more recent events.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman