Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her homelessness. Part of the complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement in relation to the parts that are in time.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained:
1. She was advised by the Council in 2019 to leave her private rented property because she was already on its housing register, but the Council decided in 2020 she had made herself intentionally homeless;
2. She has continued to live in temporary accommodation since 2020, but the Council has now given her notice to leave, despite having previously promised she could stay there until permanent accommodation was identified. She says she is at risk of homelessness again and this has affected her mental health;
3. The Council’s contractors entered her temporary accommodation without her knowledge, which caused anxiety for her and her children;
4. The Council took four years to address mould in her temporary accommodation. She said the mould caused one of her children to suffer chronic sinusitis.

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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.

(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 Ms X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Advice & homelessness decision

8. Ms X complained about the Council’s advice in 2019. The Council decided Ms X was intentionally homeless in 2020. She asked for a review of its decision, which was upheld.
9. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Ms X complained to us in September 2024 about events from 2019. I have not seen evidence she could not have complained to us sooner so there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate now. In any case, if Ms X disagreed with the decision, she had a right of appeal on a point of law to the county court and it was reasonable for her to exercise that right.

Disrepair in temporary accommodation

10. Ms X said she had been reported mould in her temporary accommodation for four years but it had not been addressed. She said contractors accessed her property in April 2024 without her consent. In its complaint response, the Council said Ms X had agreed to the visit in April 2024 but Ms X denied access and was verbally abusive, so the contractors left. It apologised for any upset caused. It also set out the actions it had taken in response to her reports of mould, including property inspections and carrying out works, on occasion even in the absence of mould. It also said it had offered to install an additional radiator, but had not been able to gain access to the property as Ms X restricted the times a contractor could visit. Ms X disputes she restricted access and says the works completed did not fully address the mould.
11. There is no evidence Ms X could not have complained to us about this earlier and therefore no good reason to consider events before September 2023.
12. The Council has taken the steps we would expect when Ms X reported mould. It carried out works in September 2023 and inspected the property in November 2023 and February 2024, but no mould was visible. It also said it had given advice on how to prevent mould and how to address it if mould occurred. There is a dispute about whether Ms X had agreed to the April 2024 visit, but the Council has apologised for any upset caused, which is an appropriate remedy for any injustice caused. We will not consider this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Notice to leave temporary accommodation

13. Ms X said an officer, who has since left the Council, promised her she could stay in the temporary accommodation until a permanent home was identified. The Council says it agreed to allow her to stay for a period, because she had had another child and had some mental health difficulties, but had not said she could do so indefinitely.
14. In its complaint response in April 2024, the Council said numerous offers and viewings of suitable properties in the private sector had been put forward but Ms X had not engaged in the process even after being advised she would need to leave the temporary accommodation. In July 2024, the Council gave Ms X 12 weeks to find alternative accommodation.
15. The Council ended its homelessness duty to Ms X in 2020. It had no duty to provide temporary accommodation after that point. It agreed to do so for a period in view of Ms X’s circumstances, but it was not under any obligation to do so. It was not fault for it to issue the notice in July 2024 and it gave an appropriate amount of time for Ms X to find alternative accommodation.
16. We will not consider this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault in respect of the complaints that are made in time to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman