Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns regarding the City of Edinburgh Council (the Council)'s administration of housing benefit for one of his tenants (the Tenant). He complained that the Council failed to properly investigate the Tenant's personal circumstances, or follow the correct procedures, when paying housing benefit, resulting in financial loss for Mr C.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
(a) the Council failed to follow their own, and the Department for Work and Pensions, guidance when administering the Tenant's housing benefit account (upheld);
(b) the Council failed to adequately investigate the Tenant's personal circumstances before deciding to pay housing benefit to the Tenant (upheld); and
(c) the Council's communication was poor (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
(i) pay any outstanding amounts to cover rent arrears for the period 20 November 2006 to 23 September 2007 to Mr C in one single payment;
(ii) remind their staff of their procedures for advising interested parties of decisions made in relation to Local Housing Allowance accounts; and
(iii) apologise to Mr C for failings identified in this report.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act upon them accordingly.