Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s delays in its handling of her homelessness application. The Council has already offered to make a payment that is in line with our guidance on remedies and further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about Council delays in handling her homelessness application meant she remained in unsuitable accommodation for four years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

What happened

6. Ms X was living in a flat on the third floor of a building with no lift. He landlord issued a notice to quit, and the Council accepted a prevention duty in December 2021. In the same month, its district medical adviser assessed her as needing accommodation on the ground or first floor if there was no lift. The Council accepted a relief duty until June 2023 and a main housing duty in October 2024. It did not arrange suitable accommodation for Ms X until June 2025.
7. Ms X complained in July 2025. In its complaint response, the Council:
• apologised for the “very considerable” delays in handling her application;
• accepted it should have recognised Ms X was legally homeless in December 2021, when its district medical adviser confirmed her current home was medically unsuitable;
• said it did not know whether interim accommodation would have been offered, or whether Ms X would have accepted it, as it was likely to have been bed and breakfast accommodation and may have been outside its area; and
• offered to pay Ms X £6,000 for the injustice its failings caused her.

My assessment

8. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events complained about. Ms X complained to us in October 2025 about events from late 2021. There is no indication she could not have complained to us earlier and no good reasons to decide to investigate the period prior to October 2024 now.
9. Even if there are good reasons to consider the entire period, we will not investigate further because this would not lead to a different outcome, for reasons I will set out below.
10. It is unclear whether the Council would have decided Ms X was in priority need in December 2021 and that it had a duty to arrange interim accommodation. Even if it had a duty, we could not establish, even on balance, what accommodation would have been offered or where, nor whether Ms X would have accepted it.
11. The Council had a duty to arrange temporary accommodation when it accepted the main housing duty. On balance, but for its delays, it would have accepted a main duty in February 2022. The Council offered to pay Ms X £6,000, which equates to £150 per month between February 2022 and June 2025.
12. Our guidance on remedies says unsuitable housing will usually be remedied at between £150 and £350 per month.
13. Ms X struggled with the stairs when entering and leaving her flat. She likely suffered some distress and uncertainty because she did not know how long she would remain there, especially as her landlord had started proceedings to evict her. However, she would have suffered some uncertainty if she had moved to temporary accommodation, which is subject to moves at short notice, and may not have been in her preferred location. On balance, therefore, the payment offered by the Council is in line with our guidance and further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman