Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled its housing allocation duties. Some of the complaint is late, and we would not achieve anything further by investigating more recent events.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council removed her from its housing register in 2022 despite being aware of environmental health issues with her property.
2. Ms X also said the Council mishandled her application to join the housing register in 2025. Ms X said the Council did not band her application correctly and did not backdate it correctly.
3. Ms X said this limited the properties she could bid on, caused her distress and affected the health of her family. Ms X wanted compensation for the Council’s failings, for it to backdate the application to 2022 and to move the family to more suitable accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

6. 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)
7. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of landlords. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended)
8. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
9. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

10. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
11. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

12. We will not investigate the complaint about the Council’s actions in 2022. The complaint is late, and it was reasonable to expect Ms X to complain to us at the time.
13. Ms X successfully challenged the Council’s decisions in 2025. Further investigation by us would not add to the outcomes Ms X has already achieved, as we would be unlikely to recommend a financial remedy in addition if we investigated this complaint.
14. Ms X has also complained to us about issues that she has not yet complained to the Council about. These relate to the actions of the Council’s environmental health team when dealing with hazards, safeguarding complaints, her general concerns about how the Council manages its housing stock and further events after April 2025. Ms X can complain to the Council about these matters and bring them back to us if she remains dissatisfied.
15. We cannot investigate complaints about Ms X’s landlord. The Housing Ombudsman is better placed to consider these matters.
16. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider any complaints Ms X wishes to make about Freedom of Information requests and Subject Access Requests.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. Some of the complaint is late, and we would not achieve anything further by investigating more recent events.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman