The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the complainant is living in unsuitable accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice and because part of the complaint is late.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says he has been living in unsuitable accommodation since 2017. He wants justice and compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
Mr X has lived in his current home since 2016. He was in band four on the housing register because he is living in long-term temporary accommodation. In 2017 Mr X asked for a suitability review and said the property was unsuitable. He was supported by a solicitor. In 2017 the Council confirmed the property was suitable.
Mr X contacted the Council in 2021 and said the property was unsuitable on medical grounds and had been unsuitable since 2016. In response the Council explained the review decision from 2017. The Council invited Mr X to submit evidence so it could reassess the suitability of the property in relation to his current needs; it asked for this information in October 2021 and January 2022.
Mr X sent evidence in October. However, it went into a junk email folder and was not seen by the Council until February. This meant the Council could not assess the evidence until now.
The Council has now assessed the evidence and has moved Mr X into band one from October. It offered emergency temporary accommodation in the interim but Mr X declined. The Council told me that Mr X has not lost out on an offer of housing because, since October, only one suitable property became available and that property went to an applicant with more priority than Mr X. There are also other people ahead of Mr X who have more priority.
I will not investigate the complaint that Mr X has been living in unsuitable accommodation since 2016 because it is a late complaint. The Council provided the accommodation in 2016 and I have not seen any good reason to investigate a complaint that is six years old.
I also will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. It is unfortunate the evidence Mr X submitted in October went into a junk folder leading to a delay in the re-assessment. However, the Council has now increased and backdated the banding and the delay has not meant Mr X has missed out on an offer of housing. Even if the Council had assessed the evidence in October Mr X would still now be in band one, waiting for a new home to become available.
Final decision
I will not start an investigation because part of the complaint is late and because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman