Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to provide him homelessness assistance in 2019. The complaint is late with no good reason to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to provide him homelessness assistance in 2019 when he raised safety concerns, leaving him in unsafe accommodation.
2. He says the Council’s actions have caused him long-lasting harm. He wants the Council to acknowledge its failings, apologise to him and offer him financial redress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The events Mr X complains of are over six years old. This makes his complaint late. As paragraph 4 says, we do not generally investigate complaints when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done, unless there are good reasons for the delay. The 12-month period starts from when the complainant became aware of the matters he is complaining about. The fact a council accepts a late complaint is not a factor in our decision-making.
8. I acknowledge Mr X’s neurodivergence, mental health conditions and stated disabilities. I also acknowledge there were periods of illness and surgery which prevented Mr X from complaining within 12 months of the event. However, I do not consider these factors prevented him from complaining to us for six years. The evidence I have seen shows that Mr X contacted the Council again after 2019, including:
• making a new homelessness application in 2021; and
• raising a complaint in 2023.
9. I therefore consider that he could have complained to us sooner and there is no good reason for the six-year delay in complaining. Therefore, I will not investigate his complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late with no good reason to investigate now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman