Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about emergency accommodation. The complaint about the accommodation’s suitability is late, without good reason to accept it now, and it is unlikely we could reach a clear enough view now. The complaint about the Council delaying invoicing Mr X for the accommodation does not cause a significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council provided unsuitable emergency accommodation and delayed invoicing him for it. He says the Council discriminated against him because of his ethnicity and because it would not believe how ill he was.

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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. 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)
3. We cannot find that an organisation has breached the Equality Act. However, we can find an organisation at fault for failing to take account of its duties under the Equality Act.
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Suitability of emergency accommodation

7. The Council gave Mr X emergency homelessness accommodation in 2019 and 2021, ending in April 2021. Mr X says the accommodation was unsuitable for medical reasons.
8. Mr X complained to us in August 2023, between two and four years after the events. So the restriction in paragraph 2 applies to this part of the complaint. Mr X told the Council he had not complained to it until May 2023 because of health problems. I appreciate health problems might mean it takes somewhat longer to pursue a matter. However, with the length of time that has passed here, I am not persuaded Mr X could not have contacted us sooner. I also note Mr X’s complaint to the Council seems to have happened after the Council invoiced him for the accommodation in May 2023. So I am not persuaded there are good enough reasons to accept this late complaint now.
9. It is also unlikely, on balance, that any investigation now would enable us to reach a clear enough view about events two to four years ago. So, the Ombudsman’s general discretion, described in paragraph 4, is also a reason not to investigate this part of the complaint.
10. The same considerations also apply to Mr X’s view that the Council discriminated against him. That complaint is late and it is unlikely we could reach a clear enough view about it now.

Invoices for the accommodation

11. Mr X reports the Council invoiced him in May 2023 for the accommodation. He says the Council could reasonably have done so much sooner, as it knew his new address. He states the invoices were a shock and he is paying the debt from his benefits income.
12. I acknowledge receiving invoices so long after leaving the accommodation would be a shock. However, that in itself is not a significant enough injustice for the Ombudsman to investigate the matter. Mr X does not dispute he owes the money. Therefore, it is likely he would always have had to pay, and to experience any resulting financial impact, even had the Council invoiced him sooner. While I understand Mr X’s dissatisfaction at receiving invoices so long after leaving the accommodation, this point has not disadvantaged him significantly enough to warrant the Ombudsman devoting time and public money to pursuing the complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The part about events in 2019 and 2021 is late, without good reason to accept it now. It is also unlikely we could reach a clear enough view now about events then. The delay with the invoices has not in itself caused Mr X a significant enough injustice to justify us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman