The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about disrepair and damage to property during Mr X’s occupation of interim accommodation in 2020-21. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council providing him with interim accommodation which he says suffered from dampness from 2020 when he moved in. A year later he says the ceiling collapsed and damaged his property. He has not been compensated for his losses.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he was placed in interim accommodation for over 300 days in 2020 and that the accommodation suffered from dampness from day one. In 2021 the ceiling collapsed damaging some of his possessions and he moved to alternative accommodation.
He complained to the Council in late 2024 and it told him that he had not reported dampness during his stay in the accommodation. It says he asked to move due to sharing the building and having boiler problems. When the ceiling collapsed the Council says it invited Mr X to submit a claim for his losses but he did not do so at the time.
We will not investigate this complaint which concerns matters which took place 4-5 years ago outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. It was reasonable for him to report the incidents to us within 12 months. However, any claim for damage to possessions would have required him to make a claim against the Council at the time.
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 disrepair and damage to property during Mr X’s occupation of interim accommodation in 2020-21. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman