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Birmingham City Council (202007866)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202007866

Birmingham City Council

1 February 2022


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this. 

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint concerns the following:
    1. Liability for rent arrears relating to an overpayment of Housing Benefit.
    2. Repair to a radiator in the bedroom of the property.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident used to reside in the landlord’s property, this Service understands that they vacated the property on 10 May 2020.
  2. The resident brought a complaint to this Service in October 2020 after they received contact from a debt collection service, which was pursuing arrears relating to an overpayment of Housing Benefit. They also raised an issue about “not having a radiator in their bedroom for the ten years I have lived at the property”.
  3. This Service sought further information from the resident and referred the complaint to the landlord.
  4. The landlord provided its final response to the complaint on 9 April 2021. As the landlord is a council, it was also able to respond to the resident’s complaint about how their Housing Benefit had been assessed. It explained that it believed that the calculation of Housing Benefits was correct and that an overpayment existed which it could pursue the resident for. It also provided information about recent repairs carried out at the property to radiators.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 39 of the Scheme sets out that:

“The Ombudsman will not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion:

(e) “were not brought to the attention of the member as a formal complaint within              a reasonable period, which would normally be within 6 months of the matters arising;”

(i) “concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure;”

(m) “fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator or complaint-handling body;”

  1. The assessment and payment of Housing Benefits claims is a service provided by the council in its capacity as a local authority, as is any pursuit of an overpayment. Complaints about the actions of a local authority are a matter for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Therefore, the Ombudsman cannot consider this complaint.
  2. It is not clear whether the council is pursuing the overpayment as rent, owed to it as a landlord, or as an overpayment, owed to it as a local authority. As set out above, if the matter concerns its actions as a local authority, it is for the LGSCO. If the council is pursuing this as rent arrears, then a dispute exists about the resident’s liability to pay rent for the property, this is a matter for the Courts to decide.
  3. The resident’s repair complaint concerns the lack of radiators, or lack of working radiators, in their bedroom, which they state was an issue for a period of ten years. As set out above, the Ombudsman expects residents to bring complaints to their landlord within six months of an issues occurrence. In this case, the resident states that they were aware of this issue for a period of several years before making this complaint, which was done after they vacated the property. Therefore, the Ombudsman will not investigate this part of the resident’s complaint.
  4.  The resident may wish to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for further advice about their complaint concerning Housing Benefits

www.lgo.org.uk

0300 061 0614