Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to his communications. Mr X can take court action to evict the tenant and make an order about any outstanding rent, and it is reasonable for him to take that action.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the tenants which the Council found for his property have not paid the rent due. He also complained the Council has not paid the tenants housing benefit directly to him and has not responded to recent communications. As a result, Mr X says he owes owed a significant sum and has been put to avoidable time and trouble pursuing the Council to try to resolve the matter.

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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 another body better placed to consider this complaint, or

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

5. Mr X owns a property that is let to tenants, which the Council found for him. In 2023, he told the Council the rent was in arrears and asked it to pay the housing benefit the tenants were entitled to directly to him. The Council said the tenants had provided evidence the rent had been paid, so it did not agree to pay the housing benefit directly to Mr X.
6. In June 2024, Mr X told the Council he had been to court and got an order to evict the tenants. He says subsequently, the Council suspended the housing benefit claim as it thought the tenants were no longer living at the address, which meant the tenants got further into arrears. In October 2024, he told the Council the tenants were still living at the address and again asked the Council to pay the housing benefit directly to him.

My assessment

7. As landlord, Mr X has the right to take court action to evict a tenant who is not paying the rent, which it appears he has done. He can also ask the court to make a money order directing the tenant to pay any outstanding rent. It is reasonable for him to take court action to enforce the terms of the lease. For this reason, we will not consider this complaint further.
8. Whilst the Council can decide to pay housing benefit directly to a landlord, it is not obliged to do so. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council decided not to do so in 2023.
9. It is not fault for a council to suspend a housing benefit claim if it considers the person is no longer living at the address they are claiming the benefit for.
10. The Council would not be able to share information about the housing benefit claim with Mr X for data protection reasons.
11. Whilst it would have been good practice for the Council to respond the Mr X’s further communications in late 2024 and early 2025 about paying the housing benefit directly to him, its failure to do so did not cause sufficient injustice to Mr X to justify further investigation.
12. For all the above reasons, we will not investigate further.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he can take court action to evict the tenant and recover any outstanding rent arrears and it is reasonable for him to do so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman