Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her housing application. The complaint is late and we have seen no good reason why Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council refused to restore her original 2008 housing register date after cancelling her earlier application due to a lack of response to review letters. She says she did not receive the review letters and, as a result, the Council incorrectly treated her application as starting in 2018, reducing her waiting time by ten years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council cancelled Miss X's original housing register application after it sent three review letters and received no response. When Miss X later challenged this, the Council explained the letters had been sent to the address Miss X provided on her application and said she had moved without updating her address details. The Council therefore decided not to restore her original housing register date and maintained that her housing application should be treated as a new application from April 2018. It also said she would not have remained eligible for the housing register because she moved outside the borough.
7. Miss X was aware of the Council's decision not to backdate her housing register date by 2022. The Council confirmed this position when it completed a review in March 2023. We normally expect people to complain to us within twelve months of becoming aware of a problem. Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman until November 2025. We consider each complaint individually and on its merits. However, we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I have considered whether to exercise discretion in this case, but I have seen no good reason to do so.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint is late and we have seen no good reason why Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman