Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s lack of support with her homelessness. Any complaint about the period before 2024 is late and there are no good reasons to consider them now. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s recent decision-making to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained she was not supported by the Council when she became homeless. She said she was living in a refuge in another council’s area.

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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

What happened

8. Ms X has made a number of homelessness applications since 2021. In 2023, the Council accepted a duty to assist her and arranged temporary accommodation. In September 2023, it ended its duty due to a number of breaches of the temporary accommodation rules. On review, the Council upheld its decision to end its duty and explained its reasons for doing so. Ms X had the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law if she disagreed with the review decision.
9. In August 2024, the Council met with Ms X to discuss her housing situation, after a contact from a social worker from another council. Although it did not consider it had a duty to accept a fresh homelessness application, the Council tried to assist her to find a private rented sector (PRS) property.
10. In April 2025, Ms X again asked the Council for assistance. It made some enquiries, before issuing a decision that there was no reason to take a new application because there were no new facts since it previously ended its duty. It explained its reasons and said there was no right of review of that decision.
11. Ms X later made a fresh application to another council, which made an enquiry to this Council, which it replied to.

My assessment

12. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Ms X complained to us in April 2025. There is no evidence she could not have complained to us sooner and there are no good reasons why we should consider investigating the period before April 2024, which was a year before Ms X complained to us.
13. Further, the Council issued a review decision in October 2023, upholding the decision to end its duty in September 2023. Ms X had the right to appeal to the county court if she disagreed with that decision and it was reasonable for her to do so because only the court could quash that decision.
14. In April 2024, the Council decided there were no new facts since the September 2023 decision that meant it should accept a fresh homelessness application from Ms X. It made this decision after discussing Ms X’s housing situation with her and making enquiries of other councils who had been involved. It sent her a letter explaining the reasons for its decision. Such decisions do not carry rights of review and appeal. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council made that decision to justify further investigation.
15. For the above reasons, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because any complaints about the period prior to April 2024 are late and there are no good reasons to consider them now, and because there is insufficient evidence of fault in relation to the Council’s recent decision-making to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman