Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the homelessness support the Council provided after she fled domestic abuse. That is because it is a late complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to provide appropriate support after she fled domestic abuse in 2021. She said the Council’s out-of-hours homelessness service told her it could not provide emergency accommodation and to return to her parents address which was the location of the abuse. She said the Council arranged emergency accommodation the following day but did not provide a tenancy agreement or tell her the rental costs. Miss X said she has been left with rent arrears which she is not liable for. She said this has affected her mental health.
2. Miss X wants the Council to provide training to staff about how to respond to victims of domestic abuse. She wants the Council to write off her rent arrears and to donate money to a domestic abuse charity.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X approached the Council for support in December 2021. The Council wrote to her in January 2022 with information about her temporary accommodation and its rent. Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman until December 2023. That is almost two years later. Therefore this is a late complaint, and we should not investigate. It was reasonable for Miss X to complain to us sooner if she was unhappy with the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman