Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the housing allocated to her in 2021 because the complaint is late. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s assessment of her bedroom need on its housing register to justify further investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council:
• did not change her bedroom need on its housing register after she moved into a four bedroom private rented sector property in 2021;
• had not told her the property was adjacent to a regeneration site when she moved there, which means she suffered from dust and noise for two years;
• wrongly said the property was suitable for her, but it is not affordable and is affected by damp and is poorly insulated.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. 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.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

Suitability of property offered in 2021

8. The Council discharged its homelessness duty to Ms X in 2021 when it moved her from temporary to private rented accommodation. The Council said it had carried out an affordability assessment when the property was offered.
9. Ms X would have had the right to ask for a review of its decision the property was suitable at that point, following which she would have had the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. It was reasonable for her to exercise those rights and therefore we will not investigate her complaint about the suitability of the property when offered. In any case, the complaint is late and there is no indication Ms X could not have complained to us earlier.

Current issues with property

10. There is no indication Ms X reported disrepair or poor insulation to her landlord or to the Council before making a formal complaint. In its complaint response, the Council explained the action it could take to address the matters raised and said it would assist her to find alternative accommodation since her tenancy had now expired. We will not consider this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Regeneration scheme

11. Ms X complained the Council did not tell her the property was adjacent to a regeneration scheme when she moved there in 2021. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late and there is no indication Ms X could not have complained to us sooner.
12. In its complaint response, the Council set out the steps taken to mitigate the disturbance to neighbours caused by the regeneration works. There is no indication Ms X reported dust or noise prior to making a formal complaint, and the Council explained how she can report any future issues. There is therefore insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify further investigation.

Housing register application

13. In its complaint response, the Council explained that, although Ms X is currently living in a four bedroom property, she was assessed as needing three bedrooms in line with its allocations scheme. There is no indication that Ms X’s household composition has changed since she moved into private rented accommodation in 2021 and therefore no requirement for the Council to issue a fresh reviewable decision about the number of bedrooms needed.
14. We recognise there is a national shortage of housing and this is particularly acute in London. This means people are waiting a long time for rehousing. All councils must allocate social housing in line with their published scheme. The Council confirmed, in its complaint response, that it was allocating in line with its scheme and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. It added that there were other families with earlier qualifying dates who were still awaiting an offer.
15. We will not consider this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Back to top

Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about housing allocated to her in 2021 because it is late. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council assessed her bedroom need on its housing register to justify further investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman