Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Ms X’s housing application. This is because complaint is late, there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained that the Council had not processed or retained her housing application from 2018. She said this caused her distress.

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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 has done. (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. In 2025, Ms X followed up on a housing application she made in 2018. The Council told her it could not locate the application, that she would need to submit a new one, and that it would not consider the matter as it was more than 12 months old.
7. 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. I will not be investigating this complaint as it is a late complaint, and I have not seen any evidence of why it was not raised to us within 12 months.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman