The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s level of support for a family facing homelessness. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault
The complaint
Mr X was facing homelessness in 2024 and sought support from the Council. Mr X complained that the Council gave him conflicting information and inadequate support, which caused his health to suffer.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council accepted a homelessness duty to Mr X in November 2024 and put together a personalised housing plan. Mr X expressed concern that the Council was considering putting his family in shared accommodation. Subsequently, Mr X and his family were not put in shared accommodation.
Mr X complained to the Council that the information provided to him around bidding was inconsistent. The Council explained why Mr X’s bid for a particular property would not be successful. The Council acknowledges it took two weeks for it to upgrade Mr X’s banding, but states that he did not miss out on property offers in this time. The Council acted in accordance with its published scheme and any delay did not cause a sufficient injustice to justify further investigation.
Mr X subsequently found a property to rent privately. The Council confirmed the property was suitable and loaned him the money to secure it. Having signed the tenancy agreement, Mr X was unhappy with the property and wanted to move. Any injustice here is not the fault of the Council.
For the reasons set out above, we will not investigate further.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault which has caused significant injustice
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman