Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about unsuitable offers of housing. The complaint is late. There is no evidence Ms X could not have complained earlier and no good reasons to decide to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council had offered housing outside its area after she became homeless. She said it ignored the family’s medical needs and her need to be close to her support network. She said receiving unsuitable offers had affected her mental health.

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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 unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

What happened

7. Ms X is homeless and is living in temporary accommodation arranged by the Council. In August 2024, she said she did not want to move out of the Borough and wanted an offer of social housing. The Council replied that:
• she was not guaranteed an offer of social housing;
• the out of Borough offer had been withdrawn;
• if it made an offer that she did not think was suitable, she could ask for a review of its suitability; and
• if she didn’t want the Council to decide where she lived, she could look for private rented sector (PRS) accommodation.
8. In September 2024, Ms X made a formal complaint about an unsuitable offer outside its Borough and about a telephone call with an officer about the offer. The Council responded in October. It referred to its earlier letter addressing her concerns about the suitability of offers. It did not have a recording of the telephone call but said the officer reported Ms X was unwilling to accept the advice they offered.
9. I have seen further correspondence in 2025 between Ms X and the Council about her temporary accommodation, but she did not ask the Council to consider her complaint at stage 2, nor has she made a fresh complaint about unsuitable offers.

My assessment

10. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events complained about. Ms X complained in October 2025 about events in August and September 2024. The complaint is late. Despite her having some mental health issues, there is no evidence to suggest Ms X could not have complained to us earlier and no good reasons to decide to investigate now.
11. Councils do not have to offer social housing to end a homelessness duty. They can offer suitable private rented sector accommodation. When considering if a property was suitable, councils will consider relevant factors, such as its location, whether it meets any medical needs and its affordability.
12. If Ms X is unhappy about more recent offers of accommodation, she should either make a fresh formal complaint to the Council or use relevant review and appeal rights. The law says we cannot investigate unless the Council has had chance to respond, so we would not consider investigating until its complaints process had been completed. There are no good reasons to depart from the usual approach in this case. If the Council makes or has made an offer of suitable housing to end its homelessness duty, Ms X would have rights of review and appeal. It is likely to be reasonable to exercise those rights rather than complaining to us.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman