Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about rent arrears. This is because the complaint has been made late.

The complaint

1. Mr X is disputing rent arrears of £824.16 for the period October 2017 to December 2018. Mr X says he was receiving full housing benefit at the time. He also says the Council failed to inform him about the debt in a timely manner.
2. Mr X says the Council’s actions have significantly affected his health and wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
7. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)
8. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered the information provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response.
10. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered Mr X’s comments before reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Housing benefit

11. Housing benefits help people on low incomes to pay their rent. It is a means tested benefit, taking into account both capital and income.
12. If a person’s circumstances change, they must tell the council. The council will place a suspension on the person’s account until they make a new decision. A suspension means the person does not receive any benefit. The Council says it aims to make housing benefit decisions within one month of receiving a change of circumstances notification.
13. Councils must make decisions in writing. The notice must advise claimants of their right to appeal. The claimant can first ask the local authority to 'reconsider' (internally review) its decision. They can then appeal to the independent benefits tribunal (the First-Tier Tribunal).
14. Appealable decisions include:
• the benefit calculation;
• that a person is no longer eligible for housing benefit; and
• that a person must repay overpaid housing benefit.

What happened

15. Mr X complained about rent arrears of £824.16 at property A for the period October 2017 to December 2018. Mr X says he was receiving full housing benefit at the time. Mr X said he only became aware of the arrears in September 2022.
16. The evidence shows the housing provider acting on behalf of the Council wrote to Mr X about the rent arrears in October and November 2017. On 29 June 2018 the housing provider wrote to Mr X asking him to pay the debt in full or attend a meeting on 6 July 2018. The records also show that Mr X contacted the housing provider during this period to discuss the rent arrears.
17. Mr X received decision letters about his housing benefit claim in November and December 2017 and March 2018. The letters set out how Mr X could appeal the decision if he felt it was wrong. Mr X did not appeal.
18. It is clear that Mr X has known about these issues for the past five years or more. Yet he did not complain to us about these matters until February 2023. Therefore, I consider the restriction on our jurisdiction which I refer to in paragraph 4, applies in this case.
19. In addition, I am not convinced that we have grounds to exercise our discretion and investigate Mr X’s complaint now despite it being late. The Council’s housing benefit decisions included information on how Mr X could appeal its calculation. It was reasonable for him to do so as the Tribunal was the body best placed to decide whether the calculation was correct.

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Final decision

20. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the way the Council dealt with his rent arrears. This is because Mr X has complained late about these matters and there are no good reasons for us to exercise discretion and pursue his complaint now
21. I have discontinued my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman