Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to help her sister recover a rent bond from her landlord which was paid in 2012. She also complained about Council staff being unhelpful in 2018. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was received outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints and it is unlikely that we would find fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X says her sister paid a £900 bond payment to her landlord in 2012 to help her secure a rented property. When she left the property in 2018 the landlord refused to return the bond and she was unable to get any assistance from the Council to recover the money. She says the Council staff who dealt with her at the time were unhelpful and misled her into believing they would help.

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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 about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Miss X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response. Miss X has been given an opportunity to comment on a draft copy of my decision.

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What I found

5. Miss X says she and her sister borrowed money to pay a £900 first month rent deposit in 2012 when the Council failed to provide sufficient bond assistance. She says a housing officer assured her she would receive it back when the tenancy ended.
6. When the landlord sold the property in 2012 and they had to leave. Miss X and her sister did not receive the bond back because the landlord told them they had failed to pay the final rental payment. She says this was an oversight and the bond was a higher figure. She contacted the Council, but the staff told her they could not act to recovery the bond because it was claimed by the landlord as part of the rental agreement. The Council officers advised her to seek a court remedy because they could not legally recover the bond or dispute rent arrears.
7. Miss X complained about the officers’ attitude in February 2021 and to us in March. This is outside the normal 12-month period for considering complaints. The restriction outlined in paragraph 2 applies here because Miss X complains about a matter she became aware of more than 12 months ago. We have discretion to disapply this rule where we decide there are good reasons. In this case I have decided not to exercise discretion because Miss X has not provided any good reasons why she did not complain to us within 12 months.
8. The Council was not party to the tenancy agreement and it has no powers to challenge the claim that the bond was kept due to a breach in the rental payment agreement. Only the courts can determine tenancy disputes.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was received outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints and it is unlikely that we would find fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman