Westminster City Council (24 014 346)
Category : Housing > Homelessness
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision Mr X was not in priority need when he made a homelessness application. It was reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council failed to consider his mental health and advice from his GP when making a decision on his homelessness application. He said the matter has worsened his mental health. He wanted the Council to provide him with housing.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s Section 202 review decision. This confirmed the Council’s view Mr X was not in priority need, and it therefore did not have a duty to house him. Such decisions bring a statutory right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
- Where someone has a statutory right of appeal, we normally expect them to use it. In this case, it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal the Council’s decision to court.
- The Council told Mr X about his right of appeal to the county court. Mr X’s mental health did not prevent him contacting us, so it would not have prevented him contacting a legal advisor. Legal aid is available for such appeals, so cost is not a preventative factor and Mr X could have had legal representation to present his case. The courts are best placed to consider appeals of homelessness decisions. There is not a good reason for us to consider the matter instead.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it was reasonable for him to use his statutory right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman