Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s housing. The law prevents us investigating the Council’s management of its social housing. Ms X could reasonably have used her appeal right about a housing benefit decision. The housing benefit point is also late without good reason to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council: wrongly pressured her into ending her Council tenancy after she fled domestic abuse; mishandled matters about her tenancy and her former Council home; and is making her repay overpaid housing benefit. She states she and her family are homeless and destitute. She wants the Council to give her back her previous home or give her another Council home and make a payment.

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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 complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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)
5. 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)
6. 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)
7. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Ms X’s Council tenancy

10. Ms X complains about the circumstances in which she gave up her Council tenancy, the Council’s later refusal to give her back the tenancy or give her a new Council tenancy and its later dealings with the property and its occupants. Those are all concerns about the Council’s management of its social housing in its role as a registered provider. Therefore, the restriction in paragraph 3 prevents us considering those points.

Housing benefit

11. In May 2020 the Council told Ms X she owed it overpaid housing benefit for her former address dating back to 2016. Ms X had the right to appeal to an independent tribunal about that decision. So the restriction in paragraph 4 applies here. The law expressly provides this appeal route to deal with such matters, so we normally expect claimants people to use it. I appreciate Ms X was living in difficult circumstances and she reports having a learning difficulty. However, those points in themselves need not necessarily prevent benefit claimants appealing, seeking help from the tribunal service with the process if necessary. On balance, I consider Ms X could reasonably have used her appeal right when she had it if she disagreed with the Council’s decision.
12. This point is also late. Ms X evidently knew about the overpayment decision several years ago. She could reasonably have pursued it sooner with the Council, in which case she would have been likely to find out about the Ombudsman and could have come to us much sooner. There are not good enough reasons for us to investigate this late complaint now. Moreover, even if we did investigate, it is unlikely on balance we could reach a clear enough view about events so long ago. So the Ombudsman’s general discretion not to investigate a complaint (see paragraph 6) is also relevant here.
13. Ms X has been repaying the overpayment in instalments. Recently she told the Council she had difficulty affording the payments. The Council told Ms X it could reconsider the instalments if she discusses this with the Council. I do not see fault in the Council’s response. Ms X and the Council can now discuss this. There is nothing more the Ombudsman can achieve currently on this point.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. The law prevents us investigating Ms X’s Council tenancy and the Council’s management of its social housing. Ms X could reasonably have used her appeal right about the housing benefit decision. The housing benefit complaint is also late without good reason to investigate it now and we might reach a clear enough view on it now. There is no fault in the Council’s offer to reconsider the repayment instalments.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman