Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council has not taken enough action to complete repairs within her temporary accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault. In addition, there are no worthwhile outcomes achievable.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has not taken enough action to complete repairs within her temporary accommodation. She says her family is therefore not housed in a safe or adequate environment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 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 an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council accepted it owed Miss X the main housing duty in February 2020 and provided temporary accommodation in June 2020.
7. Miss X has complained about matters that happened more than 12 months ago. This is because she complains about delay in the Council completing repairs to the temporary accommodation she moved into in 2020. It was reasonable for Miss X to have complained to us earlier if she was unhappy about the time taken by the Council to resolve the disrepair issues at the time. I cannot see any good reasons for why Miss X could not complain to us about the matters earlier. Therefore, I do not consider there are good reasons to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.
8. During my assessment, I have only considered the Council’s actions from August 2023, as this is 12 months from the date Miss X complained to us.
9. Miss X complained about the following disrepair issues:
• A leaking roof which was causing damp and mould.
• A faulty boiler.
• Severe mould.

She said the disrepair was causing stress and strain to her and her children had developed mould induced asthma.

10. Miss X’s temporary accommodation was provided by a private landlord. In response to Miss X’s complaints, the Council liaised with the landlord and asked them to complete the repairs. The Council confirmed the landlord took action by completing various repairs. The Council also noted Miss X did not raise any further complaints which suggested the repairs had been successful.
11. In March 2024, the Council moved Miss X to alternative temporary accommodation. Miss X does not appear to have any complaints about her current temporary accommodation.
12. It is reasonable to allow Miss X’s landlord some time to complete repairs. The evidence I have seen shows the Council acted without delay to liaise with the landlord and then followed up with Miss X to ensure repairs had been completed to a satisfactory standard. Therefore, an investigation is not justified as we are unlikely to find fault with the Council.
13. Further, the Council has now moved Miss X to alternative temporary accommodation. This means there is no ongoing injustice as Miss X does not appear to have any complaints of disrepair in the new accommodation. Therefore, an investigation is not justified as there are no worthwhile outcomes achievable.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault. In addition, there are no worthwhile outcomes achievable.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman