Summary: We will not exercise discretion to not investigate this complaint about the Council’s advice to cancel a Right to Buy application in 2024. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council advising him to cancel his Right to Buy application in 2024. He says he had recently lost his wife and was in a vulnerable position when he agreed to relinquish his application which was made in 2020. He believes he was not given sufficient information about the implications of cancelling his application. He has now submitted a new application, but he says this has significantly higher valuation than his previous price given in 2020. He wants the Council to re-instate his 2020 application.

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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. Mr X says he was advised in 2024 by the Council to relinquish his Right to Buy application which he made in 2020. He says he had recently lost his wife and that he was at a vulnerable period in his life. He agreed to relinquish the application in May 20204 and in November submitted a new application. He says the price of the purchase has increased by up to £30,000 since his original application and he believes he should have his original application re-instated.
6. We will not investigate this complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for accepting complaints and is late. It was reasonable for Mr X to complain to us within 12 months of giving up his application and there are no good reasons for us to consider it now.
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.

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Final decision

8. We will not exercise discretion to not investigate this complaint about the Council’s advice to cancel a Right to Buy application in 2024. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman