Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault and the complainant could ask for a review of new evidence. We will not exercise discretion to investigate her complaints about rental payments for temporary accommodation from 2019 onwards. It was reasonable for her to complain to us within 12 months. There is no evidence to suggest that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s assessment of her housing application. She believes she should have higher medical priority. She also complained about rent arrears which are affecting her housing eligibility. She says the Council took no action to help her from 2019 with her benefit claims which could have prevented the arrears.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome
• 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))

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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X says she has been on the housing register since 2018 and that she remains in temporary accommodation without any offers. She says the Council has failed to take her medical evidence seriously and that she has rent arrears dating back to 2018 which the Council has increased by declining four applications for discretionary Housing payment. Her temporary accommodation is being re-possessed by the owner and she does not want to go back into B&B accommodation.
7. The Council said in its response to Ms X’s compalint that it has been pursuing her for rent arrears for her former bed and breakfast accommodation since 2018 when she first made an agreement to pay the debt. It says she has been un-co-operative with the benefits service and that she either failed to complete claims documents, provided incorrect information and did not involve the Citizen’s Advice service when advised to do so in 2022.
8. We will not investigate the claims made by Ms X or the Council in this period which is outside the normal 12-month timescale for submitting a compalint. It was reasonable for Ms X to complain to us after 2019 if she believed the Council was failing to advise her correctly about the rent owed.
9. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
10. Ms X has a current housing application and it was awarded Band C priority following a medical assessment in 2024. She has not provided evidence of changes of circumstances to the Council since that time but if she has this evidence she could ask for a review of her case under s.166A of the Housing Act 1996.
11. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault and the complainant could ask for a review of new evidence. We will not exercise discretion to investigate her complaints about rental payments for temporary accommodation from 2019 onwards. It was reasonable for her to complain to us within 12 months. There is no evidence to suggest that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman