Summary: We will not investigate this complaint requesting a financial remedy for issues arising from the Council accommodating the complainant in unsuitable accommodation from January 2023 to July 2024. This is because the complaint is caught by the time bar on the Ombudsman’s remit and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate. Some of these complaint issues have already been raised in court, and, where not, would have been reasonable for the complainant to raise in court.

The complaint

1. In summary, Mr X complains, on behalf of Mr Y, that the Council caused Mr Y suffering that should be remedied by paying him financial compensation.
2. Mr X says the Council breached multiples statutory duties such as delaying on confirming the main housing duty when the relief homelessness duty ended. And also delaying in carrying out the review of the suitability of the accommodation. Mr X says Mr Y had to take judicial review action against the Council for suitable accommodation to be provided in July 2024.
3. Mr X would like the Council to compensate Mr Y for his suffering in unsuitable accommodation from January 2023 – January 2024 as a person with several health conditions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 or not done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
6. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

9. To provide a brief background, Mr Y made a homelessness application to the Council in December 2022. The Council accepted a ‘relief’ homelessness duty in January 2023 when it offered Mr Y a studio flat. In February 2023, Mr Y requested a review of this offer of accommodation as he found it too small to meet his needs.
10. In September 2023 the Council accepted it was unsuitable, but then, according to Mr X, the Council took no further action. Mr X says Mr Y was forced to judicially review the Council in 2024. This caused the Council to offer permanent accommodation that Mr Y accepted in July 2024.
11. Mr X has provided medical evidence corroborating Mr Y’s serious health conditions, diagnosed while living in the accommodation complained about.
12. We will not investigate. This is because the complaint has been made late outside of the normal 12-month time period for raising matters to the Ombudsman. The trigger for the complaint is the suitability of the accommodation first offered in February 2023. It would have been reasonable for Mr X to raise his complaint to us in early 2023, 8 weeks after the Council had failed to act on the review request. Instead, Mr X allowed 2 years to elapse before complaining to the Ombudsman.
13. I do not see good reason to exercise discretion to investigate, notwithstanding Mr Y’s ill- health, given some of the issues raised to us are closely related to matters that have already been determined in court such as alleged breach of statutory duties. We are prohibited from considering matters in connection with matters decided in court. If Mr X considers the Council has breached aspects of the consent order, he can take this back to court.
14. Another reason not to investigate is because the courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy in court we cannot investigate even if the court did not provide a complete remedy. And finally, where some of these issues were not raised in court, and it may have been reasonable to mention as closely related as part of legal proceedings concerning the suitability of the accommodation, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate this complaint as it is caught by the time bar on the Ombudsman’s remit and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman