Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about homelessness advice given to Mrs X’s tenant in 2023. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council giving advice to her tenant to remain in the property which she rented to him beyond her issuing of a s.21 notice to quit. She says this resulted in her incurring unnecessary court costs for evicting the tenant. She wants the Council to pay her possession action costs, the stamp duty on her subsequent home purchase and loss of interest amounting to £4,075 plus interest of £1,164.

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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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she served a s.21 notice to quit on her tenant in March 2023. Her agents reported to her in May that the tenant had told them he would not vacate the property by the expiry date of the notice on advice from the Council. Mrs X went to the County court following the expiry of the tenancy and obtained a possession order in August. The warrant for eviction was issued in October.
6. Mrs X says the Council should not have advised her tenant to remain after she issued the notice and that this resulted in her sustaining court costs which she could have avoided. The Council told her that it gave standard homelessness advice to her tenant when he presented it with the notice in June. At that time there was no evidence that a possession order would be sought and the tenant chose himself to remain and to prevent any further viewings. There was no duty for the council to provide interim accommodation when the notice ended in July and the tenant did not request it.
7. We will not investigate this complaint which concerns matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months from when we received their complaint. In this case Mrs X became aware of the tenant’s refusal to vacate and his comments about the Council’s advice in June 2023 and could have complained to us reasonably within 12 months.
8. 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.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about homelessness advice given to Mrs X’s tenant in 2023. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman