London Borough of Hackney (25 002 012)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Aug 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to offer Miss X a suitable property. This is because the complaint relates to events that took place in 2020. There is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council offered her an unsuitable property and removed her from the housing register. She said the Council’s actions have caused her distress and upset.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In 2020, Miss X accepted a one-bedroom property the Council offered her after she presented as homeless. In November 2023 she complained to the Council that the property was unsuitable. She also said the Council told her she would be able to bid on a two-bedroom property but removed her from the housing register instead.
- The Council told Miss X it had removed her from the housing register because she had been deemed as adequately housed. The Council said she did not qualify for the housing register because she was not severely overcrowded. Miss X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman as she was unhappy with the Council’s response.
- The Ombudsman does not usually exercise discretion to investigate complaints about matters that took place more than 12 months ago, unless there are good reasons to do so. In this case, the matters complained about took place in 2020. It would have been reasonable for Miss X to complain at the time. There is no good reason to investigate these matters now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint relates to events that took place in 2020. There is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman