South Kesteven District Council (25 014 581)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to cancel his housing register application. This is because his complaint is late and we have seen no good reason why he could not have come to us sooner.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council cancelled his housing register application in error. He said the Council admitted its error but refused to reinstate his application.
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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register in 2022. Following his application, the Council sent Mr X an annual review letter in May 2023. The letter explained that Mr X needed to respond within 28 days otherwise the Council would cancel his housing application.
- The Council closed Mr X’s application as it had not received a response from Mr X. However, Mr X says he did not receive the annual review letter.
- The evidence I have seen shows the Council did send the letter to Mr X. I am therefore satisfied that Mr X became aware at the time that he needed to respond to the letter within 28 days otherwise the Council would close his housing application. Further and in any event, Mr X first complained to the Council in August 2024, more than 12 months before contacting to us.
- Mr X came to us in September 2025. I will not investigate his complaint because it is late and I have seen no good reason why he could not have come to us sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and I have seen no reason why he could not have come to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman