Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s housing. This is because the issues complained of carried a right of appeal to a county court which it was reasonable for her to use.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council:
• placed her in unsuitable temporary accommodation; and
• wrongly discharged its homelessness duty by offering her an unsuitable property.
2. Ms X said as a result, she has been caused significant distress and she and her children are now being evicted from their temporary accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council accepted a main housing duty to Ms X and her children in March 2025 and moved them into a hotel, as temporary accommodation.
8. Ms X used her statutory right to ask the Council to review the suitability of the hotel, as she said the accommodation did not meet their needs. The Council carried out its review and decided the hotel was suitable temporary accommodation in the short term.
9. The Council told Ms X that if she did not agree with its suitability review decision she could appeal this to the county court within 21 days. Ms X did not use her right of appeal. It was reasonable for Ms X to use her appeal right to resolve this complaint. Therefore in line with the restrictions on what we investigate, set out at paragraph three, we will not investigate this further.
10. In November 2025, the Council made Ms X a final offer of a property. It said if Ms X did not accept the property, it would discharge its homelessness duty and provide no further support. Ms X used her statutory right to ask the Council to review the suitability of the offer. Ms X said this property was not suitable for her family’s needs.
11. The Council carried out its review and decided the property was suitable. It told Ms X if she disagreed, she could appeal the decision to the county court. Ms X disagreed but again did not use her right of appeal. Ms X also did not accept the property. Again, it was reasonable for Ms X to use this appeal right to resolve this complaint. Therefore in line with the restrictions on what we investigate, set out at paragraph three, we will not investigate this further.
12. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman. She said she and her family were now being wrongly evicted from their temporary accommodation. Eviction proceedings are now underway in court and in line with the legal restrictions on our work set out in paragraph 4, we cannot investigate the eviction process itself. We cannot investigate this part of Ms X’s complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it carried a court appeal right which it was reasonable for her to use.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman