Summary: We have discontinued our investigation of this complaint, about the Council’s handling of the complainant’s request for disabled adaptations to his home. This is because the complaint concerns the Council’s duties as a social landlord, which means it is not in our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. I will refer to the complainant as Mr V.
2. Mr V complains the Council reversed its original decision to make disabled adaptations to his council-owned property, because it received inaccurate information about his conditions. He says it then took the Council six years before it again agreed make the adaptations, meaning he was left living in unsuitable conditions for an extended period.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr V, via his representative, and the Council, as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. I also shared a draft copy of this decision with each party for their comments.

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What I found

7. Mr V is a council tenant and suffers from a physical disability, which was making it difficult to access parts of his property. In 2019, he asked the Council to make certain adaptations to the property for this reason.
8. The Council initially agreed to this, before suspending the work. It said this was because it had received evidence which suggested Mr V had exaggerated or fabricated his disability.
9. After a significant period of investigation, in 2024 the Council agreed to carry out an occupational therapy assessment of Mr V. After the assessment, the Council again agreed to adapt Mr V’s property, and completed this work in 2025.
10. Mr V then make a complaint to the Ombudsman through a professional representative.

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Analysis

11. Mr V’s complaint is about the way the Council has made decisions about the management of his property, as a social landlord. We have no jurisdiction to investigate such complaints (except in narrow circumstances which do not apply here), and I must therefore discontinue my investigation.
12. I will add that, even if Mr V’s complaint did fall into our jurisdiction, it is unlikely we would be able to investigate it meaningfully. This is because the law requires a person to approach us within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue they wish to complain about, and the core of Mr V’s complaint is significantly older than this.

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Decision

13. I have discontinued my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman