Summary: We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint about the Council failing to address outstanding repair works in her temporary accommodation because it is late and there are no good reasons for us to decide to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Summary: Mrs Y complained that the Council placed her family into unsuitable temporary accommodation with significant disrepair, mould and leaks, which caused a ceiling collapse. She says this has exposed them to serious harm, put their health at risk and caused mental health issues.
   Mrs Y says that the Council said she was not responsible for utilities, but a court order was obtained for an outstanding water bill.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Disrepair in temporary accommodation

5. Mrs Y submitted a complaint to the Council regarding ongoing delays and failure to address disrepair at her temporary accommodation. She said the issues had occurring since 2015 and culminated in a ceiling collapse in 2023. Mrs Y said she had been complaining to the Council and the managing agent for years, but no repairs were carried out. Mrs Y moved to alternative accommodation in July 2023.
6. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events complained about. Mrs Y complained to us in October 2025 about events between 2015 and July 2023. There is no indication she could not have complained to us earlier and no good reasons for us to investigate now. In any case, it is unlikely we could establish what happened and make a robust and defensible decision, given the lapse of time since the events complained about. We will not consider this part of the complaint further.

Utility costs

7. Mrs Y also complained the Council told her that she did not have to pay for utilities, but a court order was later obtained for an outstanding water bill.
8. The law says we cannot investigate unless the Council has had a chance to respond. I have not seen evidence Mrs Y complained to the Council about this, so it is not appropriate for us to investigate at this stage.
9. It is unclear whether this complaint relates to the temporary accommodation referred to above or the property Ms X moved into in July 2023. It is also unclear when Mrs Y became aware that she did need to pay utility bills. The fact a court order has since been obtained suggests the complaint may be late. There is no indication Mrs Y could not have complained to us earlier and no good reason for us to decide to investigate now.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint about disrepair in her temporary accommodation because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. We will not investigate her complaint about utlities because the Council has not had chance to comment and because this complaint also appears to be late, and there are no good reasons to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman