Sevenoaks District Council (24 010 834)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Nov 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint which 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
- Miss X complained about the Council advising her to seek private rented accommodation when she made a homeless application in 2021. She said the accommodation which she found proved to be unaffordable and led her to be facing eviction in 2022.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X says she approached the Council as homeless in 2021. The council advised her that only temporary accommodation and private renting would be available initially when it accepted her under the main housing duty. Miss X secured private rented accommodation with e financial support from the Council in September 2021.
- She says it was unrealistic for her to maintain this accommodation because it became unaffordable when she had reduced income later on. She faced eviction and a new homeless application in 2022.
- 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. She found accommodation in September 2021 and the Council discharged its homeless duty in October. She did not ask for a review of the decision at the time. We will not exercise discretion to investigate the matter now.
Final decision
- We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint which 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.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman