The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s investigation in 2019 concerning who was living at the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in which Mr X resides. This is because the complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the inadequate investigation the Council carried out in 2019 concerning who was living at the HMO he resides in.
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, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X is a tenant who lives in an HMO. In 2019 the Council investigated who was living at the property and the status of a person who was staying at the property but was not a tenant.
In 2022 Mr X complained to the Council about the inadequacy of its investigation in 2019. Unhappy with the Council’s response and the way it handled his complaint, Mr X complained to the Ombudsman.
The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to Mr X’s complaint. While Mr X says he did not make his complaint sooner because of the COVID pandemic and other factors, we would reasonably have expected him to have done so and it is too late now for an investigation into these past events. Moreover, as the person no longer resides at the property, and an investigation is unlikely to lead to any useful outcome, I see no grounds for exercising discretion to investigate it now.
While Mr X also complains about the Council’s handling of his complaint, we will not investigate complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman