London Borough of Redbridge (24 017 018)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in processing a housing application in 2016. 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 says she applied to the Council’s housing register in 2016 and it did not complete processing her application until 2022. She is concerned that she may have missed opportunities to be re-housed in the intervening years.
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’s responses.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X says that she applied for housing to the Council in 2016. Her housing application was not made active until 2022. The Council backdated her application to 2016 when she brought this to its attention. She says she is concerned that she did not receive any consideration or was able to make any bids in the intervening years.
- Miss X did not complain to us until 2025 which is outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. It was reasonable for her to query why she was not able to bid on vacancies or have a banding priority at the time. She could have asked the Council to review her application within 12 months of submitting it or to make a complaint.
- 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.
Final decision
- We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in processing a housing application in 2016. 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