Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s homeless application. The Council has already accepted fault and provided a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his homelessness. He says the Council wrongly ended its duty to him.
2. He says as a result he was forced to move out of the area and did not get the support he should have to resolve his homelessness.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X was homeless and the Council accepted a duty to him. He contacted the Council to ask to speak with his housing officer about a property he had found. The officer returned Mr X’s call a few days later but did not speak to Mr X. The Council then ended its duty.
7. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council accepted that it should not have ended its duty to Mr X. It apologised, agreed to withdraw its decision and to contact Mr X to consider how it can help him in his current circumstances.
8. Mr X now lives outside the Council’s area. Under the Council’s policy, this would mean he could not join its waiting list for social housing. However, the Council has agreed to allow Mr X to join the housing register, given its previous error in closing his case.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has already accepted fault. When remedying injustice, we try to put complainants back into the position they would have been but for any fault. The Council’s actions, in withdrawing its decision and allowing Mr X to join the housing register, achieve this.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has already accepted fault and provided a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman