Summary: We shall not investigate Miss X’s complaint about homelessness matters. Much of the complaint is late without a reasonable prospect of reaching a clear enough view now. Miss X could reasonably have used her review rights about any temporary accommodation offers she considered unsuitable. Miss X seeks compensation for personal injury, which is more appropriately for the courts to decide. There is not enough evidence of fault depriving Miss X of an offer of social housing. The Council has offered a suitable remedy for failing to reply to Miss X after May 2023

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council mishandled her homelessness and broke its promise to consider making her a payment. She says this caused distress and damaged her health.

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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)
4. 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)
5. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant (including in two telephone conversations) and the Council. I considered the Ombudsman's Assessment Code.
7. I shared my draft decision with Miss X and considered her comments on it.

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My assessment

Events 2016 to 2022

8. The current complaint stems from events between 2016 and 2022. In particular, Miss X says the Council provided various unsuitable temporary accommodation from 2016 and offered other unsuitable temporary accommodation and longer-term housing. Miss X knew she was dissatisfied with events from 2016 to 2019 by 2019 because she complained to the Council then. Miss X was also aware she remained dissatisfied from 2020 to 2022. Miss X complained to us in February 2024, so the restriction in paragraph 3 applies.
9. Miss X's mental health problems and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would have made it harder to pursue matters. However, Miss X was able to seek help pursuing matters from an advice agency and solicitors at times.
10. I also appreciate some delay after May 2023 was due to Miss X awaiting a reply from the Council to her suggestion it make her a payment. Responding to my draft decision, Miss X repeated she did not come to us sooner because she hoped the Council would resolve the matter. However, Miss X need not have waited nine more months before coming to us. Anyway, by May 2023 most of the events complained of were already well over 12 months old.
11. In all the circumstances, I am not persuaded there is good enough reason to accept this late complaint now. Moreover, it is unlikely we could reach a clear enough view on balance now about events dating back so many years.

Right to review suitability of temporary accommodation

12. Even if the points about lateness did not apply, Miss X had the right to ask the Council to review the suitability of any temporary accommodation she was dissatisfied with. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council's review had decided the accommodation was unsuitable, the Council would have had to provide suitable accommodation. If a review decided the accommodation was suitable, Miss X would have had the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
13. The law expressly provides this route for disputes about temporary accommodation's suitability. We normally expect people to use it. I appreciate Miss X had mental health difficulties, although she states those were less serious in the earlier years of the events complained of.
14. On balance, it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have sought suitability reviews of temporary accommodation. This is another reason we will not investigate the complaint about temporary accommodation.

Claimed impact on Miss X's health

15. Miss X says the main impact of events she complains of was the worsening of her mental health. Miss X says this in turn leaves her unable to accept more temporary accommodation from the Council, so she feels forced to make her own inadequate accommodation arrangements. She also says her worsened mental health means she can only bid for social housing in limited areas of the borough, close to her support network, so it will take longer to get social housing. Miss X wants the Council to acknowledge this, resolve the problem (by housing her) and pay compensation.
16. In effect, Miss X is arguing the Council caused personal injury. The courts can deal with that, so the restriction in paragraph 4 applies.
17. My draft decision noted Miss X's mental health difficulties and difficult circumstances might make court action difficult but would not necessarily rule out that option. Miss X's response to my draft decision noted the courts could consider this point and said her health and other difficulties would make it difficult for her to get help taking court action. I note this is difficult. However, Miss X could ask the court to make disability-related reasonable adjustments. The possible cost of court action does not in itself automatically mean the Ombudsman should investigate instead. Miss X might qualify for help with legal costs and/or could ask the court for her costs if her action succeeded.
18. The existence of, liability for and consequences of personal injury are not straightforward legally. It is more appropriate for the courts than the Ombudsman to decide this, even if Miss X would find taking court action difficult. Also, the Ombudsman does not award compensation in the way the courts can. That is not our role. Therefore, in all the circumstances, it would be reasonable for Miss X to take court action if she wants a ruling on whether the Council's actions affected her health and compensation for that.
19. For the reasons in paragraphs 8 to 18, I shall not investigate the complaints about temporary accommodation and any offers of long-term accommodation.

The Council ending then reinstating homelessness duty

20. Miss X is dissatisfied the Council ended its homelessness duty to her in 2020. Miss X used her legal right to ask the Council to review that decision. She put forward reasons she believed the decision was incorrect. The Council's review reinstated the homelessness duty.
21. We usually expect people to use the review right the law provides for such situations. Miss X did so, and the result was in her favour. The review procedure therefore worked. We cannot achieve more here. So I shall not take further action on this point.

The Council not giving Miss X social housing yet

22. Miss X is dissatisfied with what she sees as the Council's continuing failure to give her long-term social housing. She says an officer told her in 2022 this could take seven years. Miss X points out by 2023 she had been homeless and on the housing register for seven years. However, any average waiting time is simply an average, not a guarantee or a maximum. How long an individual waits depends on their circumstances, their priority relative to other applicants, the bids they make themselves and the parts of the borough where they would accept housing.
23. As mentioned above, Miss X will only consider properties in a limited part of the borough. Inevitably, that will restrict the number of properties for which either she might bid or the Council might consider a direct offer.
24. The Council says it will continue to consider putting Miss X forward for properties it thinks might be suitable. The evidence suggests it proposed some properties in 2022, though they turned out not to be suitable. The Council must also balance Miss X's and other applicants' needs. In May 2023 it told Miss X she was 109th on the list of applicants with similar needs.
25. In the Council's area, the demand for social housing is significantly greater than the supply. Overall, I do not see evidence of fault by the Council on this point that has deprived Miss X of an offer of social housing.

The Council's failure to reply after May 2023

26. When the Council replied to Miss X's most recent complaint in May 2023, it noted she had asked the Council for a payment and asked her to give more details. The Council told me this was not an acceptance it should pay compensation. The Council says Miss X responded as it had asked her to. It accepts it never replied.
27. The Council has now told me it will offer Miss X £150. It says this is just to recognise any distress and inconvenience resulting from its failure to reply to Miss X's suggestion after May 2023. I understand it does not mean the Council has accepted fault on Miss X's complaint about earlier events.
28. Clearly the Council was at fault for asking Miss X for a suggestion then failing to reply to that suggestion. That caused Miss X avoidable frustration and the inconvenience of chasing a response. I consider the Council's offer is in line with what the Ombudsman would be likely to recommend in such circumstances. Any investigation by us would probably not achieve significantly more. So I shall not take further action on this point.

Current position on temporary accommodation

29. The Council states Miss X can still ask it for temporary accommodation if she wants. If Miss X were to do that and if the Council were to offer somewhere she considered unsuitable, she would have the review right mentioned above. This is a matter for Miss X. It is not for me to suggest whether she should seek temporary accommodation.

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Agreed action

30. The Council has offered to pay £150 as outlined above. I ask the Council to do this within one month of today.

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Final decision

31. We shall not investigate this complaint. Much of the complaint is late without a reasonable prospect of reaching a clear enough view now. It would also have been reasonable for Miss X to use her review rights regarding any temporary accommodation offers she considered unsuitable. Miss X seeks compensation for personal injury, which is more appropriately for the courts to decide. There is not enough evidence of fault depriving Miss X of an offer of social housing. The Council has offered a suitable remedy for its failure to respond to Miss X after May 2023.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman