Summary: Miss X complained about the way the Council responded to her homelessness application and about the way her landlord pursued her for rent arrears. We found there were issues with the Council’s communication and there was some delay in its actions. However, we discontinued our investigation because the Council remedied the complaint appropriately. We did not investigate the actions of Miss X’s landlord.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that there was delay and inaction by the Council after she presented as homeless in February 2022. She also complained that the Council wrongly closed her file in October 2022.
2. Miss X also complained her landlord had failed to explain that they intended to pursue her for rent arrears and the Council did not adequately support her with the rent arrears she had.
3. Miss X explained that action taken by her landlord in respect of rent arrears was upsetting and stressful and the Council’s actions also led to distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
6. 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 we could not add to the previous investigation by the council or if 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. Miss X’s complaint includes the Council’s actions from February 2022 when she first contacted it. She complained about these events in October 2023 and then brought a complaint to us. We expect complaints to be brought within 12 months of someone knowing of the events of their complaint, so we will not investigate the issues that occurred between February 2022 and October 2022.
8. Miss X’s complaint also concerned what her landlord said, actions they took, and recovery action about rent arrears. We do not have jurisdiction to consider the actions of Miss X’s landlord.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I spoke to Miss X and considered the information she provided and the complaint she made. We took account of the Council’s complaint responses and its letter to Miss X in October 2022.
10. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I did not receive comments on the draft decision before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Homelessness Prevention Duty

11. If councils are satisfied that applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help the applicants secure accommodation that does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)

Background

12. Miss X originally contacted the Council in February 2022. In July 2022 the Council accepted a Homelessness Prevention Duty towards Miss X. It sent written confirmation of this to Miss X on 26 July 2022.

Events Subject to Complaint

13. In October 2022 the Council closed its file and ended its Prevention Duty to Miss X because she did not respond when an officer called her. The Council wrote to Miss X the same day to state that its prevention duty had ended. However, the letter the Council sent appears to have been a standard letter which had not been properly completed. Dates and details were omitted and it contained a list of reasons why the decision had been made which conflicted with one another. It seems this was because the list of possible options had not been deleted or amended to tailor the letter to Miss X’s circumstances. As a result, the letter did not make it clear why the Council took this action.
14. In response to Miss X’s complaint the Council implied that officers closed the file because Miss X had secured accommodation. However, she had not found accommodation at the time of the Council’s decision. The Council accepted that it should not have sent this letter without confirming the situation with Miss X.
15. The October 2022 letter stated Miss X could request a review of the Council’s decision. We would generally expect someone to request a review if they disagree. However, the letter was not clear. Under these circumstances it would have been hard for Miss X to request a review.
16. While we found the Council’s actions in October 2022 constituted fault, Miss X told us that she had secured accommodation in November 2022 with help from a guarantor. This limited the injustice caused.

Miss X’s complaint

17. Miss X complained about the Council’s actions in October 2023. She stated that her landlord was pursuing her for rent arrears and she had been visited by enforcement agents. She blamed delay by the Council during 2022 for the build‑up of her rent arrears.
18. Miss X also complained that her landlord had not explained what was happening and council officers had not helped her to deal with the rent arrears she had accrued. She felt unsupported as a result.
19. The Council accepted it should not have closed her file in October 2022 in the way it did. It also accepted there had been some delays and, at times, a lack of communication. However, it noted that officers had taken actions on her case and discussed housing options with Miss X. Miss X told us she was given links to resources to find accommodation, and she had contacted many landlords but found it difficult to secure accommodation.
20. The Council acknowledged the difficulties that Miss X had faced with rent arrears and recovery action taken by her landlord. However, it stated there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by council officers about this. The Council encouraged Miss X to seek some independent legal advice about her financial circumstances.
21. To recognise the error it made when incorrectly closing Miss X’s file and to recognise there had been poor communication and a delay in responding to Miss X’s complaint, the Council offered to make a payment of £450 to Miss X.

Was there fault by the Council

22. There was fault by the Council in closing its file without a clear understanding of Miss X’s circumstances in October 2022. We also found there was fault in the communication of the Council’s decision to end its Prevention Duty. Its letter was incomplete and as a result it was not clear why the file was closed. However, as Miss X was able to find accommodation soon after this occurred, this limited the impact. The Council also acknowledged there were communication issues and some delay in responding to Miss X.
23. The Council apologised to Miss X and offered a payment to recognise the distress its fault caused. As the remedy the Council offered in response to Miss X’s complaint was in line with our guidance on remedying complaints, I do not have grounds to investigate Miss X’s complaint further. As a result, I intend to discontinue my investigation on the basis the council provides this remedy.

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Final decision

24. We discontinued our investigation into Miss X’s complaint on the basis that no worthwhile outcome could be achieved by further investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman