The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment and review of a housing application. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the Council’s decision that she was not eligible for the housing register in 2023. She asked the Council to review its decision in 2023 and it did not send a review decision until June 2024. She says she should be eligible for the register due to her situation involving violence in 2022 and the Council has failed to properly consider her housing circumstances.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the complainant and the Council’s response and review decision.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X says she received a decision on her housing application in October 2023 that she was ineligible to be on the Council’s housing register because she did not meet the threshold of the allocations policy and was adequately housed.
She asked the Council to review its decision in December and it did not issue a review outcome until June 2024. The review upheld the original decision that she did not qualify for the housing register.
We will not investigate this complaint because it was received outside the normal 12-month period for accepting complaints. Miss X submitted her review request in December 2023 and she could have complained to us once 8 weeks had passed without a response from the Council. The Council’s eventual response is also outside the 12-month period for us to consider now.
The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment and review of a housing application. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman