Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s housing application. Matters going back to 2024 are late, caught by the time restriction on the Ombudsman’s powers. The more recent matters are being considered by the Council now, so it is too early for us to intervene.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council failed to investigate her concerns about the administration of her Home Choice housing application going back to January 2024.
2. Miss X says she has raised concerns about issues including her medical priority date, bedroom entitlement, cancellation, suspension and deregistration of her application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The Council decided not to investigate Miss X’s complaint. It said the matters occurred in 2024, so fall outside its complaint time limits. The Council also noted that concerns relating to more recent events in 2026 could be raised separately. It confirms Miss X has submitted a new complaint which it is considering.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it mostly concerns matters falling outside of our usual 12-month period for raising a complaint. The main issues Miss X asks us to consider relate to events and decisions stretching back to 2024 and 2025. She was aware of these matters when they occurred yet did not bring her complaint to us until September 2026. This is significantly more than 12 months after many of the key events complained about. I have seen no good reason why the complaint could not have been brought to us sooner. Therefore, we will not investigate.
10. Miss X has also raised more recent matters occurring this year. These appear to be under consideration by the Council. The Ombudsman would normally expect the Council to have the opportunity to investigate and respond through its complaints procedure before we become involved. These matters are therefore premature under our governing legislation and can be raised to us once the Council has completed its consideration.
11. For these reasons, we will not investigate the complaint. The historic matters are late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate. We will not investigate the more recent matters as they have not yet completed the Council's complaints process.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is mostly late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. It is too early for us to consider the more recent matters as they have not exhausted the Council’s complaint procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman