Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about what happened to her social housing tenancy. This is because the complaint concerns the Council’s historic management of its social housing and so it lies outside our legal remit.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the historic actions of the Council when it acted as a landlord of social housing. She says her rent protection was removed and she lost her property.

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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 complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mrs X said in her complaint and also the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Assessment

5. The Council’s actions Mrs X complains about are connected to her old social housing tenancy so we cannot investigate.

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Final decision

6. I cannot investigate this complaint as it relates to the Council’s historic management of its social housing and so lies outside our legal remit.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman