The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused his housing application because this complaint is late. We also cannot investigate part of Mr X’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council refused his housing application and upheld this decision at review. He says his family is living in overcrowded accommodation but have been unable to move to a larger home. Mr X also complains there are problems with damp and mould at the property and the Council has failed to resolve this.
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) 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 information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X made a housing application to the Council which it refused. Mr X says his family is living in overcrowded accommodation but the Council has refused to put them on the housing register. The Council says Mr X’s family does not qualify for priority need because they are only one-bedroom overcrowded and there is no evidence of medical or other needs that would qualify for priority need. The Council says Mr X can use its home-swap scheme to apply for a larger property.
Mr X asked for a review of the Council’s decision and received a final response in 2022. The Council’s response signposted Mr X to the Ombudsman or judicial review. Mr X’s complaint is late as it is about matters that happened more than 12 months ago. Mr X has not provided any good reasons for why he did not complain to us earlier. Therefore, I will not use discretion to investigate the late complaint.
As it has been three years since the Council last completed its review, it is open to Mr X to reapply to join the housing register. The Council can then consider his new application to determine if he is eligible to join.
Mr X also complains about the condition of his current property due to problems with damp and mould which he says were caused by leaks from an upstairs property. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord. Mr X can ask the Housing Ombudsman to consider this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr’s complaint because it is late. We also cannot investigate part of Mr X’s complaint because it is about the management of social housing by a council acting as a social landlord
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman