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Winchester City Council (202226500)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202226500

Winchester City Council

30 July 2025

 

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 is about Winchester City Council’s (the council’s) handling of:
    1. Repairs to a property provided as temporary accommodation while the resident was homeless.
    2. The eviction process from this temporary accommodation.
    3. A decision not to offer a 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, we have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction in accordance with paragraph 42(j) of the Scheme.

Summary of events

  1. Prior to the resident’s tenancy, the council accepted a homelessness duty towards him and placed him in temporary accommodation on 26 January 2021. This temporary accommodation was a 2-bedroom house provided under a non-secure tenancy agreement.
  2. On 24 November 2021 the council advised the resident that he had been nominated for a property. However, it decided that this property was not suitable for him and told him that it would make another offer instead.
  3. On 8 December 2021 the council made a final permanent offer of accommodation to the resident under part 6 of the housing act 1996. On 15 December 2021 it wrote to him to advise him that it had ended its duty to rehouse him because he had refused this offer.
  4. On 11 January 2022 the resident’s solicitor wrote to the council about outstanding repairs to guttering, windows, flooring, the shower, and damp and mould growth. Surveyors attended the property and ordered a gutter clearance and sealant to the shower floor.
  5. On 9 February 2022 the council served the resident a notice to quit to end the tenancy.
  6. Following a complaint by the resident the council provided a stage 1 complaint response on 22 February 2023 and a stage 2 complaint response on 9 October 2023.

Statement of reasons

  1. Paragraph 42(j) of the Scheme states that “the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator or complaint-handling body”.
  2. The resident’s complaint was about his dissatisfaction with repair of the temporary accommodation, the council’s decision not to offer him a property, and its decision to end provision of temporary accommodation. These were the council’s functions under the homelessness legislation and not a housing management function and therefore should be dealt with by the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
  3. The resident may wish to refer the case to the LGSCO or discuss it further with the council.
  4. Therefore, in accordance with the Scheme, the resident’s complaint about the repair and eviction process from temporary accommodation, and its decision regarding offers of accommodation to discharge homelessness duty are outside the jurisdiction of this Service to determine.