Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about his temporary accommodation. This is because it is late and there is insufficient justification for us to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr B, complained that the temporary accommodation the Council gave him in November 2015 had a serious plumbing problem. He told us this affected his health, he could not stay in the property all day and the problem caused him embarrassment.

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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 have considered the information Mr B provided and his comments on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mr B told us he moved out of the temporary accommodation in February 2016. He said he reported the plumbing problem to the Council many times, but it failed to put the problem right.
6. Mr B’s complaint is late. He has told us his medical issues and personal circumstances affected his ability to pursue his complaint sooner. But we could not now effectively investigate a complaint about conditions in the temporary accommodation Mr B occupied more than four years ago. So there is insufficient justification for us to exercise discretion to investigate this complaint now.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is late and there is insufficient justification for us to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman