Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not providing permanent accommodation, the suitability of temporary accommodation and the decision to end the main housing duty. Part of the complaint is late, there is insufficient evidence of fault, and it was reasonable to expect Ms Y to seek a review of the Council’s decision to end the main housing duty.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains on behalf of Ms Y. She complains that the Council:
1. Failed to provide suitable permanent accommodation for her and her family when they fled racist abuse in 2017.
2. Failed to provide suitable temporary accommodation which met the family’s medical needs.
3. Wrongly discharged its main housing duty.
4. Failed to acknowledge and respond to Ms Y’s complaints.

Ms X says that the Council’s actions have caused significant distress to Ms Y and had an impact on her and her family’s health.

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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 of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local
4. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide 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))

5. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
6. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council not providing suitable permanent accommodation for Ms Y and her family in 2017. This complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate the matter now.
10. The Council placed Ms Y and her family in temporary accommodation in 2023. Ms Y requested a review of the suitability of the temporary accommodation. The Council carried out the review and decided the temporary accommodation was suitable for Ms Y and her family’s needs. The Council notified Ms Y of her right to appeal to the county court on a court of law. We do not know if Ms Y could have appealed to the county court on a point of law. So, we cannot say it was reasonable for Ms Y to appeal to the county court. But we will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the suitability of the temporary accommodation for the reasons below.
11. We are not an appeal body. Our role is to consider if the Council followed the proper process when making a decision. We will not come to our own view on the suitability of temporary accommodation unless there is fault in how the Council came to its decision. The Council’s review decision letter shows it considered Ms Y’s reasons for why she considered the accommodation to be suitable. It also provided a reasoned explanation for its decision that the accommodation was suitable. So, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation of this matter.
12. We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint about the Council’s decision to end the main housing duty. Ms Y has requested a review of the Council’s decision. It is therefore reasonable for her to continue with the review process. She would also have the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law if her review request is unsuccessful.
13. We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint about disrepair in the temporary accommodation. One of Ms Y’s reasons for disputing the Council’s decision to end the main housing duty was that she considered it to be retaliation for raising concerns about disrepair. This complaint is therefore not separable from the decision Ms Y is seeking a review of.
14. Ms Y has complained about the Council failing to respond to her complaints. We will not investigate how the Council dealt with Ms Y’s complaints. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about how a council has dealt with a complaint if we are not investigating the substantive issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman