Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the suitability of temporary accommodation because part of the complaint is late without good enough reason to investigate it now. Miss X could reasonably have used her review right to challenge the Council’s decision in August 2024 that her temporary accommodation was suitable. The Council’s delay reaching that decision did not cause significant enough injustice to warrant us investigating now.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council wrongly assessed the suitability of her temporary accommodation by disregarding her medical issues. She complains there was a delay in the Council reaching its decision. Miss X says this has negatively affected her mental health.

Back to top

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’, 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Miss X complains the Council delayed after September 2023 considering the suitability of her temporary accommodation. She complained at Stage 2 of the Council’s complaint process in October 2023, over 12 months before complaining to us, so Miss X has been aware of the delay for longer than that and the restriction in paragraph 2 applies. Miss X could have reasonably come to us sooner with her complaint about events up to November 2023.
7. In August 2024 the Council decided Miss X’s accommodation was suitable. Its letter explaining this decision told Miss X about her legal right to ask the Council to review that decision. The law provides this review right to challenge such decisions, so we normally expect people to use it. If a review request were to result in an unfavourable decision, the applicant would then have the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. Miss X could reasonably have used her review right then applied to court. So, we shall not consider whether the accommodation is suitable.
8. The Council took from September 2023 to August 2024 to issue its decision. That caused Miss X frustration and uncertainty. However, as the Council’s view about the accommodation’s suitability did not change, this frustration and uncertainty is not significant enough injustice to justify investigating. If Miss X was dissatisfied with the continuing delay and believed it was disadvantaging her significantly, she could reasonably have contacted us about this sooner. The Council had told her in December 2023 she could complain to us, but she did not do so until November 2024. This and there being no change to the suitability decision means the delay in itself did not disadvantage Miss X significantly enough for us to investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. Part of the complaint is late without good enough reason to investigate now, and it would have been reasonable for Ms X to use her review rights to address the core issue. The time the Council took to reach a suitability decision did not cause significant enough injustice to warrant us investigating now.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman