Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about restrictions placed on a disabled facilities grant by his landlord. This is because the Council is not responsible for the landlord’s decision and we cannot investigate the actions of the landlord. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his disabled facilities grant application as his complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for him to complain to us about the matter sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his application for a disabled facilities grant (DFG), which is a grant provided to disabled people to make changes to their home. Mr X also says the Council gave his landlord advice which has resulted in parking issues and he has had to buy a mobility scooter so he does not have to move his car.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. I have reissued this decision following Mr X’s comments

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My assessment

8. Mr X had work carried out to his property, which belongs to a Housing Association, under a DFG in 2023. He suggests he has recently been made aware of unreasonable conditions added to his DFG application by the Housing Association and he believes the Council was partly responsible for these. He therefore contacted the Council to complain.
9. The Council says in order for any works to be approved under a DFG it needs permission from the owner of the property and in Mr X’s case the Housing Association granted permission but placed restrictions on what works could be carried out. It declined to consider Mr X’s complaint any further because the works were completed in 2023 and Mr X did not complain about the handling of his application within 12 months.
10. The Council is not responsible for the Housing Association’s decision and the Housing Association itself is not a body in our jurisdiction; we cannot therefore investigate any complaint about its decision to place restrictions on the DFG and we could not overturn its decision.
11. Mr X says he is also unhappy about the way the Council dealt with his DFG application but any complaint about this issue is late. This is because Mr X knew about the Council’s decision by at least February 2023 but did not complain to us about it until January 2025, almost two years later.
12. While Mr X suggests he did not complain sooner because he was unaware of the Council’s advice to the Housing Association, as set out at Paragraph 10 the Council was not responsible for its decision which was a matter for the Housing Association alone. I therefore consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to complain to us about the Council’s actions at the time, had he been unhappy with the way it dealt with his DFG application.
13. If Mr X believes the Housing Association has acted unreasonably in restricting the works he may wish to raise a complaint with the Housing Association. If he is not satisfied with their response he may then be able to refer his complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. This was the advice the Council provided Mr X and it remains the most appropriate way to deal with the matter. Mr X can contact the Housing Ombudsman by email at info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or by telephone on 0300 111 3000.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman