The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with her housing register matters between 2009 and 2023. This is because the complaints are late and there are no good reasons to consider them now.
The complaint
Ms X complains about how the Council has dealt with her housing application issues since 2009. She says there were errors since that time, and the Council cancelled her application in 2023.
The Council declined to respond when she complained in 2025, because the complaints are about issues which took place more than 12 months prior.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman