Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his housing register application. This is because some of the complaint is late and a further investigation by us is unlikely to add anything to that already carried out.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his housing register application. He says the Council has failed to process this for him and that his housing situation does not meet his changing housing needs.

Back to top

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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X says that he provided information to the Council about his housing needs in 2021, but the Council did not get back to him.
7. I will not investigate this, as the complaint is late. This is because the matter complained about, happened more than 12 months ago.
8. The time for us receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council, or it issued its final response. I see no good reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner after he provided the information to the Council in 2021.
9. In July 2024 Mr X contacted the Council again. The Council accepted it had closed his file in error. It apologised, agreed to help him make a new application and agreed to backdate the outcome of any successful application.
10. The Council has told us it had since called Mr X to provide information on how to make a new application.
11. I consider the apology and offer to backdate Mr X’s application to be a suitable resolution to the recent complaint, and it follows that a further investigation by us is unlikely to add to this.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because some of the complaint is late, and a further investigation by us is unlikely to add to that already carried out.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman