Clarion Housing Association Limited · Case 202120354 · 8 April 2022
Clarion Housing Association Limited — case 202120354
The Ombudsman determined the complaint about rent liability after the tenancy ended was outside its jurisdiction because the resident did not raise it as a formal complaint within a reasonable period (over 18 months after the events).
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
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Liability for rent following end of tenancy
Outside jurisdictionThe complaint was not brought to the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period. The resident complained in October 2021 about incidents from January 2020, more than 18 months later, so the Ombudsman cannot consider it under paragraph 39(e) of the Scheme.
The full determination
REPORT COMPLAINT 202120354 Clarion Housing Association Limited 8 April 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 The complaint concerns the resident’s liability for rent following the end of the tenancy. Determination (jurisdictional decision) 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. 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 On 28 October 2021, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord.
They explained that they had vacated the property in November 2019, but the landlord had charged rent until January 2020. The landlord provided a final response to the complaint on 20 January 2022. It explained that the resident had not returned the keys for the property, therefore it was able to charge rent until they were received. The resident referred their complaint to this Service on 28 September 2021. Reasons Paragraph 39(e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that “the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion 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” We believe it is important that complaints are referred as quickly as possible.
It becomes more difficult for both parties to present information and recall events accurately as more time passes since the issue’s occurrence. For this reason, the Ombudsman has set timescales in which we expect a complaint to be referred to a landlord and to this Service. The resident complained about incidents which occurred in January 2020 in October 2021; more than eighteen months after the incidents occurred. I am therefore satisfied that this is not a complaint which the Ombudsman can consider.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.