Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the classification of her tenancy as “private” because we could not achieve a worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council wrongly classified her tenancy as “private” when it should be “social/affordable” in communications with the Department of Work and Pensions, which led to her Universal Credit being suspended. The Council refused to investigate her complaint because it said her landlord was a private company and therefore a separate legal entity.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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 considered information provided by Ms X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

6. Ms X became homeless in 2021. The Council offered her a property in a new development, and she signed the tenancy in late March 2022. Her landlord is a private company, wholly owned by the Council. Ms X provided an email dated 28 February 2022 in which she was advised rent would be at the market rate.
7. In July 2025, the managing agent informed the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that Ms X had a private tenancy. DWP advised Ms X she needed to redeclare as a private tenant, or her universal credit (UC) would be suspended. Ms X told us her UC was suspended in September 2025.
8. Ms X complained to the Council. In early October 2025, the Council declined to investigate her complaint because it said it related to actions of a company that was a separate legal entity. Ms X complained to us in November 2025.
9. In January 2026, in a response to Ms X’s intention to take legal action, the Council said (amongst other things):
• the decision she complained about was made by a private company, which is a separate legal entity;
• it did not agree she had a social housing tenancy, nor that it has been reclassified. It was an assured shorthold tenancy (AST), signed in March 2022;
• it accepted some of the housing in the development where she lives is classified as “private affordable rent”, but that does not apply to her property and
• it had no control over DWP decisions.

My assessment

10. The Council says Ms X has an AST and rent is paid at the market rate. The tenancy does not therefore meet the criteria for a social tenancy, which means schedule 5 (see paragraph 3 above) does not prevent me from considering the complaint.
11. It is too late for us to investigate the circumstances in which the property was offered in 2022, but the evidence provided suggests she knew at the outset she would be paying rent at the market rate.
12. Ms X complained about a change in the classification of the tenancy in July 2025. The Council disputes such a change. Ms X says the agent had previously classified her tenancy as a social tenancy. It is unclear why it would have done so, but it is too late now to investigate whether and why the tenancy was originally classified as a social tenancy in 2022. This is because it is unlikely, given the lapse of time, we would be able to establish what happened in sufficient detail to reach a robust and defensible decision.
13. The agent’s current position would appear to be correct. However, this is a legal matter, and Ms X will need to consider getting legal advice with a view to court action if she wishes to challenge it.
14. Applicants can seek support with their rent through UC, whether their tenancy is a social tenancy or a private tenancy. So it is unclear why the classification, including any change it, would prevent Ms X seeking help with rent payments. This is not a question we can explore because DWP is not in our remit.
15. For the above reasons, we will not consider the complaint further.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we could not achieve a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman