London Borough of Islington (23 021 412)
Category : Housing > Council house sales and leaseholders
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Dec 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing rent arrears for a tenancy which dates back to 2002. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about social housing tenancies and rent accounts.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council informing him that he owed £3,800 in rent arrears from a former council tenancy. He says he was unaware of this until he submitted a Right to Buy application this year and the process identified the arrears and the requirement to pay them for it to progress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says that when he applied for a Right to Buy his council home in 2024, the Council informed him that the claim could not progress because he owed £3,800 from a previous tenancy in 2022.
- Mr X says he was unaware of this and that the Council did not pursue him for the arrears at the time. the council says its records do not go back far enough to confirm if the social housing authority pursued him or if he informed them of his later change of address. The arrears stemmed from there being no housing benefit claim in pace for the period involved.
- We cannot investigate complaints about social housing rent accounts. It was a matter for the housing authority to pursue with its tenants and as it is not subject to the statute of limitations it is a matter for the landlord and the tenant to resolve. The Council advised Mr X of the Housing Ombudsman’s details following its investigation of his complaint and this is the body which deals with tenant social housing rents complaints.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing rent arrears for a tenancy which dates back to 2002. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about social housing tenancies and rent accounts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman