Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Mr X’s homelessness and housing register applications. Part of the complaint is late. The Council offered a reasonable and proportionate remedy for other aspects of the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council:

• Mishandled his homelessness application in 2020 and his caseworker was neglectful and abusive towards him.
• Wrongly rejected his housing register application in 2023.
• Failed to send a decision letter in 2023 about his housing register application.

2. Mr X says that as a result he was homeless and lost his support network. He had to live outside the Council’s area so does not qualify for the housing register. Mr X says he also lost the opportunity to appeal the Council's’s decision as he did not receive the Council’s decision letter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), 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. We will not investigate how the Council considered Mr X’s homelessness applications and housing register applications between 2020 and 2023. These matters are late. Mr X may have had good reasons why he could not make a complaint to us sooner. But it is unlikely that we could carry out an effective and reliable investigation some three to six years after the events. So there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate this aspect of Mr X’s complaint.
8. Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his 2023 housing reigster applciation is also late. But there are good reasons to exercise our discretion to consider this complaint. In its response to Mr X’s 2025 complaint, the Council acknowledged it did not respond to the complaint made by Mr X in 2024. Mr X had therefore tried to pursue the matter.
9. Mr X did not receive the Council’s decision on his 2023 housing register application. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council acknowledged it did not have a record to show it posted the decision letter or have electronic confirmation of delivery. The Council also acknowledged that its reasons for refusing Mr X's housing register application could have been more clearly and sensitively explained. It explained that Mr X did not qualify for the housing register as he had not lived in the Council’s area for five out of seven years. So, he did not meet its residency criteria. The Council offered a payment of £150 to Mr X to acknowledge the effect of its communication faults.
10. If we were to investigate Mr X’s complaint, we would ask the Council to review its decision on Mr X’s housing register application from 2023. This would be to remedy the lost the opportunity to request a review as Mr X did not receive the decision letter. But the Council effectively reviewed its decision on Mr X’s housing register application when responding to his complaint. This remedies Mr X’s lost opportunity. The Council’s offer of £150 to Mr X is a reasonable and proportionate remedy for the distress caused to him by its poor communication. So, we will not investigate Mr X’s complaint as the Council has offered an appropriate remedy.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint as part of the complaint is late and the Council offered a reasonable and proportionate remedy for other aspects of the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman