Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his housing application. This is because some of the complaint is late with no good reason to investigate now. Mr X should raise the rest of his complaint with the Council for it to consider under its complaints process.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council delayed processing his housing application and he could not place a bid for two years. He says this put him at risk of becoming homeless when his landlord served him a legal notice to end his tenancy. Mr X says he was served another notice in December 2024, and the Council has not assisted him, putting him at risk of homelessness. He is also unhappy the Council has decided he has a need for only one bedroom and wants the Council to allow him to bid on two bedroom properties.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X made a housing application in or before 2022. He says he was unable to use the bidding system for two years because the Council delayed assessing his medical priority and updating his address on its system. It therefore did not activate his account until January 2024. Mr X says he was issued notice by his Landlord during this time to end his tenancy, and because of the delay in processing his application he was unable to bid on properties, putting him at risk of homelessness.
7. The law says people must complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of an issue. Complaints to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after being aware of something are late. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons for the delay in complaining.
8. Mr X has known about these issues since 2022, and I can see no reason he could not have bought this complaint to us sooner. The Council has also backdated Mr X’s application to 2022, so it has addressed any possible disadvantage caused by the delay.
9. If the Council has not yet had the opportunity to investigate a complainant’s concerns, we must ensure it has the opportunity. Mr X says he received notice from his landlord in December 2024 to end his tenancy, and despite asking for help, the Council has not provided it. He is also unhappy with the Council’s decision he only has a one bedroom need. He says he has a full-time carer so requires a two bedroom property. However, the Council has not yet had the opportunity to investigate Mr X’s complaint on these points, and it is reasonable for it to do so. Mr X should approach the Council so it can consider these issues under its own complaints process.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of it is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. The Council has not yet had chance to consider and reply to the rest of the complaint so Mr X should allow it to do so by complaining to it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman