The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with Mr X whilst he is homeless. This is because he has a right of appeal to court and it would be reasonable to expect him to use this right.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to consider relevant information when it carried our a review about what duty it owed to him under the Housing Act 1996. Mr X says he is homeless and the Council’s actions have caused him significant distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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
If a person is unhappy with the Council’s review decision about what duty is owed to them under Part 7 of the 1996 Housing Act they can appeal to County Court on a point of law.
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has a right of appeal to court. We may disregard this restriction where we believe it was not reasonable to expect a person to exercise their right of appeal. I can see no reason why Mr X could not appeal to court if he was unhappy with the Council’s review decision. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he had a right of appeal to court and it would be reasonable to expect him to have done so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman