The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to place Mr X and his family in temporary accommodation in a neighbouring borough which he says is unsuitable. It was reasonable for him to challenge the Council’s decision and its review by appealing to the courts.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council placing him in temporary accommodation in a neighbouring borough. He says the location is too fat for his child’s school requirements and that his relatives and networks are too distant. The Council reviewed its decision at his request but the review upheld the decision to place him outside the borough.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s decision in its statutory review of his case.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he was offered temporary accommodation following the Council’s decision to accept him under its main homeless duty in July 2023. The accommodation was in the neighbouring borough of Merton and Mr X says this is too far from his child’s current school and his parents who live in Lambeth Borough.
Mr X asked the Council for a statutory review of the decision under s.202 of the Housing Act 1996 and was represented in his request by solicitors. The Council reviewed his case but concluded that the offer was suitable after taking into account his family’s needs and other relevant factors. The Council advised Mr X though his solicitors that the decision was upheld and that if he wished to challenge it further he could do so by appealing to the County Court on a point of law within 21 days.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made. In this case the Council carried out a review and gave detailed reasons why it considered the accommodation to be suitable. It informed Mr X of his appeal rights and it was reasonable for him to appeal.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to place Mr X and his family in temporary accommodation in a neighbouring borough which he says is unsuitable. It was reasonable for him to challenge the Council’s decision and its review by appealing to the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman