Westminster City Council (23 007 941)
Category : Housing > Homelessness
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision Ms X is not homeless. It was suitable for her to use her right to appeal to the count court.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council issued a decision that she was not homeless and it therefore does not have a duty to assist her to find accommodation. She says the Council’s actions leave her and her children at risk of becoming homeless, and this has impacted her mental health. She wants the Council to revisit its decision and put her on the council housing waiting list as homeless.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X asked the Council in late 2022 to consider a homelessness application. The Council decided she was not homeless, as she had accommodation that was suitable and affordable. Ms X says she cannot afford the rent.
- Ms X appealed the Council’s decision. The Council issued its review decision in July 2023 which confirmed its original decision. It told her if she wished to appeal she had the right to do so via the county court within 21 days.
- When there is a statutory right of appeal, we will not normally investigate a complaint about the matter. It was reasonable for Ms X to use her right of appeal in this case. The Ombudsman considers whether there has been fault in how a council has made its decision, but in the absence of fault we cannot come to a different decision about whether a person is homeless. Only the courts can do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to use her statutory right to appeal to the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman