Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about accommodation which the Council arranged for Miss X in 2019 under its homelessness prevention duty. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s advice about her current housing situation which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council offered her accommodation in 2020 which she believed was temporary accommodation under its homelessness duty. The tenancy was in a neighbouring borough and she says the Council has told her recently that it was a private shorthold tenancy which has been continuous since that time. Because of this the Council has told her it has no homelessness duty as this ended in 2020. She is now needing to move but has been told she must approach her current council housing authority. She says she was not properly informed about the status of the tenancy she accepted in 2019.

Back to top

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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Miss X approached the Council as threatened with homelessness in 2019. The Council accepted her under the Prevention duty and arranged a private sector assured shorthold tenancy for 12 months which she signed for in January 2020. The Council sent her an end of homelessness duty s.195 letter in January and this confirmed that she had secured private rented accommodation. The letter confirmed that the accommodation was a shorthold 12-month tenancy.
7. The tenancy was in another council borough and when the12-month period ended it became a periodic tenancy which she has kept for the past 6 years. Miss X says she is now suffering threats of violence and approached the Council to move her to alternative temporary accommodation under its homelessness duty. The Council reminded her that the duty ended in 2020 and that it has no local connection with her. It advised her to first contact her own council about the issues after which she may submit a new homeless application and ask to be referred if eligible.
8. Miss X says she was never informed that her tenancy was not temporary accommodation.
9. From the documents we have received it is clear from the end of duty letters and the tenancy agreement that this was not temporary accommodation and was a private rented assured tenancy. It was reasonable for Miss X to query the nature of her tenancy in 2020 if she was unsure. We will not investigate this matter now because it was received outside the 12- month period for accepting complaints. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
10. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about accommodation which the Council arranged for Miss X in 2019 under its homelessness prevention duty. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s advice about her current housing situation which would warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman