Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly suspended his housing account for six months and that it has refused to backdate his housing application to 2019. Part of the complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault in its recent actions to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly suspended his housing account for six months from September 2023. He says this was unfair and prevented him from bidding on houses during this time.
2. He also complained the Council has refused to backdate his housing register application to 2019. The Council has offered him £200 in recognition of poor communication between 2019 and 2022. Mr X says this is insufficient remedy for the distress caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In its complaint response to Mr X, the Council explained it had suspended his housing account in September 2023 because a relative acting on his behalf told the Council that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) had stopped his housing payments, pending a review. It also later found out Mr X had accrued rent arrears of over £2000.
8. The Council re-instated his housing account at the end of January 2024, once Mr X had confirmed his benefits had been re-started and he provided evidence that he had cleared the rent arrears.
9. The Council’s housing allocation’s policy sets out that if a person is claiming housing costs, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure the DWP has full and correct information to process their claim. It also states that it will suspend the account of anyone who has debt of more than £800. It is the applicant’s responsibility to tell the Council when they have either cleared the debt or reduced it by at least 25%. It will then reinstate the account.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. Any fault by the DWP is not the responsibility of the Council. The Council’s decision to suspend his account appears in line with its policy. It appropriately reinstated his account when he provided evidence his benefits had re-started and he had cleared his rent arrears. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
11. We will not investigate his complaint about the Council’s refusal to backdate his housing application to 2019. If Mr X was dissatisfied about this decision, he could have complained in 2022. This complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate now.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman