Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a service charge or service charge arrears. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council:
• was requiring him to pay a service charge for utilities in relation to his temporary accommodation. However, he said the accommodation provider had told him those costs were already included in the nightly rate paid by the Council, so it was double charging;
• had not explained the reasons for the charge, nor explained how it was calculated;
• had threatened to take enforcement action for unpaid service charges, despite a Breathing Space agreement being in place;
• had not respected his request for communications in writing as a reasonable adjustment. He said an officer had left a voicemail saying he could lose his home as a result of the service charge arrears; and
• had not properly investigated his complaint.
2. Mr X said the Council’s failings had caused him significant distress and uncertainty. He said the sudden imposition of a service charge had left him unable to budget for essentials and he was left in fear of being evicted.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

6. Mr X lives in temporary accommodation arranged by the Council. The Council pays the accommodation provider on a nightly basis. The amount paid to the provider includes a sum for rent and for utilities.
7. Prior to April 2025, the Council did not ask residents to pay for utilities. From that date, it required all residents to pay a service charge to cover the cost of utilities and that sum is passed to the accommodation provider.
8. The Council wrote to Mr X in March 2025 to explain the rent and service charges that were required from April 2025. It said the service charge covered the cost of utilities, which included the cost of gas, electric and/or water. It explained the new rent and service charge would be closer aligned to the payments residents would need to make when moving from temporary to alternative accommodation.
9. In its complaint response, the Council explained the service charge was calculated using guidance provided by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
10. Mr X has not paid the service charge from April 2025 and arrears have accrued. The Council said it was told about a Breathing Space arrangement in July 2025, which would apply until September 2025. Breathing Space arrangements mean creditors, including councils, cannot enforce listed debts during a specific period.
11. The Council told us it had not taken any enforcement action, and it was seeking to agree an affordable repayment plan with Mr X.
12. The Council also told us it had agreed Mr X’s request for communications in writing as a reasonable adjustment and this was now flagged on its housing system.

My assessment

13. The Council was always entitled to pass on the cost of utilities to residents, so Mr X benefitted during the period when it did not do so. It gave adequate notice of the change by writing to Mr X a month before it took effect. It calculated the service charge by reference to relevant DWP guidance and explained this in its complaint response when Mr X raised the issue. There is no evidence of double charging – the Council collects the service charge from residents and makes a payment to the provider that includes rent and service charges. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify further investigation.
14. Councils are entitled to take enforcement action in relation to unpaid rent and/or service charges. The Council says it took no enforcement action in this case, and I have seen no evidence it failed to respect the Breathing Space arrangement. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify further investigation.
15. It is unclear when Mr X first asked the Council to make reasonable adjustments. However, the Council has now agreed to make the adjustment he asked for. We are unlikely to achieve a different outcome by investigating further and there any fault has not caused sufficient injustice to justify doing so.
16. For all the above reasons, we will not investigate further.
17. We do not investigate council complaints handling unless we are also investigating the underlying complaint.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing sufficient injustice to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman