Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing allocations because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complained the Council has failed to provide her with suitable accommodation and has failed to act to her request to move due to overcrowding. She also says the cost of the rent on her property is above the local housing allowance rate and is therefore unfair to expect her to pay.
2. Ms Y says this has put her into debt and she suffers from mental health issues partly as a result of the conditions she is living in. She says she also feels the property is not suitable for the needs of her children as it is cold and without a bath.

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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
• 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

5. I considered information Ms Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council accepted the main housing duty for Ms Y when she was homeless in 2020. Ms Y was offered a property in 2021 as permanent accommodation. At this stage she could have asked for a review of the property’s suitability, but she did not. Ms Y could also have sought a suitability review relating to the cost of the accommodations if she felt the cost of £143 per month in addition to her housing benefit was more than she could afford. However, Ms Y accepted the accommodation, and this ended the Council’s housing duty towards Ms Y.
7. If Ms Y felt the accommodation was unsuitable at that stage, we would have expected her to seek a review in 2021. As it would have been reasonable to expect Ms Y ask the Council for a review at the time, we will not investigate this complaint.
8. Ms Y has complained the Council failed to act when she said she was overcrowded, living in a one-bedroom house as a single parent with two children under four. Ms Y says she was told in 2020, when she was homeless that she ought to be living in a two-bedroom property. However, when she was offered the tenancy Ms Y had only one child under 1 year of age. The Council considered her request but found that she was not overcrowded under its housing allocations policy. This is because under the Council’s policy, a person will be overcrowded where there are four people in a one-bedroom property.
9. As Ms Y is a single parent with two children only according to the information she provided to the Council, she does not meet the criteria for overcrowding under the Council’s housing allocations policy. The Council explained this to her with reference to its policy. As it has made its decision based on relevant information and in accordance with its policy, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. We will not investigate this.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman