Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove Miss X’s housing application following the discharge of its homelessness duty in 2023. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner following the Council’s closure of her review on its allocations decision.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to close her housing application in February 2024 following the discharge of its homelessness duty in November 2025. She says the property which she accepted in the private sector is no longer affordable and she wants the Council to make her a direct offer of accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X was accepted by the Council under its homelessness duty and in October 2023 offered her a private sector tenancy in a neighbouring borough to relieve her homelessness. Miss X accepted the offer and the Council discharged its homelessness duty. In February 2024 she was told that her housing application had been closed because her change in circumstances meant that she was adequately housed and no longer eligible to be on the register.
6. Miss X asked the Council to review its decision because she was concerned about affording a 4-bedroom house in the long-term. The Council carried out a s.166A review of her application but concluded that the decision to close her application was correct. In January 2026 she complained to us about the Council’s decision and said that since her daughter recently moved out she has more problems with affordability and has incurred rent arrears.
7. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the ended of her housing register eligibility. She was told about this in February 2024 and did not complain to us within 12 months. If she believed the property offered was unsuitable she could have challenged the Council’s decision to discharge its duty in 2023 using the review/appeals procedure offered by the Housing Act 1996 homelessness legislation.
8. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
9. Miss X asked the Council in 2025 to make her a direct offer but it cannot do so because she is not on the housing register which is a basic requirement of any offer consideration. She submitted a new housing application following her complaint to us and the Council confirmed that it was being assessed when it responded to our enquiries. If her application is rejected she will have further rights to have this decision reviewed under s.166A of the Housing Act 1996 Part 6.
10. If she becomes homeless within 2 years of her tenancy commencing she may be able to apply to the Council again.

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Final decision

11. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove Miss X’s housing application following the discharge of its homelessness duty in 2023. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner following the Council’s closure of her review on its allocations decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman