The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an issue that occurred in 2018 regarding the complainant’s housing benefit. This is because it is a late complaint.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council told his landlord he had claimed housing benefit. Mr X says he had told the Council he did not want the landlord to know about the claim because the landlord did not want to rent properties to benefit claimants. Mr X says the Council told the landlord who evicted him. These events occurred in 2018.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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.
My assessment
Mr X rented from a private landlord in 2018. He asked the Council not to tell the landlord he was claiming housing benefit. Mr X says the Council informed the landlord in 2018 and the landlord evicted him.
In 2021 Mr X complained to us about the way the Council handled a homelessness application in 2019. We did not investigate the complaint because it was late.
I will not start an investigation regarding the housing benefit issue because it is a late complaint. Mr X has known about the housing benefit issue since 2018 but he did not complain to us until 2024. I have not seen any good reason to accept a complaint about events that occurred six years ago.
Final decision
We will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman