Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the suitability of Mrs X’s temporary accommodation. She successfully used her right to request a review and the Council agreed to offer the family alternative temporary accommodation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council provided unsuitable temporary accommodation for her family. She said due to this, the household was overcrowded and this impacted her husband’s health. She wanted the Council to instead provide permanent accommodation for the family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, 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. Mrs X complained the Council’s offer of temporary accommodation for her family was unsuitable. We will normally not investigate such complaints, as the suitability of temporary accommodation brings the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. This is usually the appropriate route to challenge such a decision.
7. However, in this case it is not reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of appeal. This is because the Council has accepted the accommodation it provided is unsuitable and has agreed to make the family a new offer of temporary accommodation.
8. There is not a meaningful outcome we could achieve by investigating the matter further. Mrs X successfully used the statutory process available to challenge the suitability of the temporary accommodation provided. We could not achieve the outcome Mrs X seeks, because it is not the role of the Ombudsman to place people in a better position they would have been in otherwise.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she successfully used her right to request a review and the Council agreed to offer the family alternative temporary accommodation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman