Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s housing register application date and the Council withdrawing an offer of accommodation. This is because these complaints are out of time. We also will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council refusing an emergency housing transfer as there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council:

• Incorrectly considered his housing register application date to be 2021 which does not take account of his contact with the Council before that date.
• Unfairly withdrew an offer of housing in 2023.
• Failed to take account of his exceptional circumstances when refusing to offer an emergency transfer to other accommodation.

2. As a result, Mr X considers he has lived in unsuitable accommodation and with the risk of harassment for longer than necessary.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X including the Council’s response of June 2024 to his complaint.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In 2021, Mr X applied for the Council’s housing register. The Council considered he qualified for the register and considered his registration date to be the date when he made his application. Mr X considers his application date to be earlier than 2021 due to his earlier contact with the Council. We will not investigate this complaint as Mr X would have been aware of the registration date at the time the Council considered he qualified for the housing register. I am mindful of Mr X’s difficult personal circumstances, but I consider he could have made a complaint to us about this matter before now. So, there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate this complaint.
8. Mr X said the Council offered a property to him in 2023 but withdrew it. We will not investigate this complaint as it is out of time. Mr X was aware the Council had withdrawn the property at the time. Again, I am mindful of Mr X’s difficult personal circumstances, but I consider Mr X could have made a complaint to us about this matter before now.
9. The Council placed Mr X in its priority homeseeker priority banding. In late 2023 Mr X made a complaint to the Council as he considered the Council should exercise discretion to provide an emergency transfer. This was due to his exceptional personal circumstances, including that he was being threatened and harassed. The Council issued its final response to Mr X’s complaint in mid 2024. The Council explained it could not consider Mr X and his family for an emergency transfer as its housing allocations policy provided this was only available for existing Council tenants. The Council advised Mr X to contact his family’s landlord who may be able to arrange an emergency transfer. The Council also provided a link to the Council’s website for details on how to make a homelessness application.
10. I consider this aspect of Mr X’s complaint is in time as he was only aware of the Council’s final position on an emergency transfer in mid 2024. But we will not investigate this complaint. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. The Council’s final response shows it was aware of Mr X’s circumstances when considering if it could offer an emergency transfer so it had taken them into account. The Council’s decision not to offer an emergency transfer is in accordance with its housing allocation policy as that provides emergency transfers are for existing council tenants. The Council also signposted Mr X to information on how to make a homelessness application. This was an appropriate route as Mr X considered he was unsafe in his property. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation into this aspect of Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s housing register application date and the Council withdrawing an offer of accommodation. This is because these complaints are out of time. We also will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council refusing an emergency transfer as there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman