The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: The Council failed to properly follow its policy when it decided that Miss B could not join the housing register. It also failed to make reasonable adjustments for Miss B’s disability. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss B, refund any additional rent she has paid because she has been unable to move to a smaller property and provide evidence to show that it has taken action to ensure it makes reasonable adjustments for Miss B in future.
The complaint
Miss B complains about the Council’s decision that she could not join the housing register due to a housing related debt. Miss B says she was initially told that the debt was rent arrears from a previous property and then was told it was because she had not paid a fixed penalty for leaving a freezer and some rubbish bags at a previous property. Miss B disputes leaving these items and says she discussed it with an officer at the time and believed the matter to be resolved.
Miss B is sight impaired and says that despite asking the Council to make reasonable adjustments for her, it refused to accept her complaints and appeal over the telephone and has not responded to her complaints in the format she needs. She says it also failed to return her calls.
Miss B says that as a result of the Council’s failings, she remains living in a property which is too large and is more expensive than a smaller property. She says she feels the Council has treated her unfairly which has caused her distress and frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I have: considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant; discussed the issues with the complainant; made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council has provided; and given the Council and the complainant the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
What I found
Relevant legislation and Council policy Bedroom tax The Government changed the housing benefit rules from April 2013. The new rules say that a council must reduce someone’s housing benefit if they live in a property which is too large for their needs.
Reasonable adjustments As a public sector body, the Equality Act 2010 requires councils to consider making adjustments if people with disabilities have problems using its service. If those adjustments are reasonable, the council must make them.
The Council’s allocations scheme This sets out the rules for qualifying to go on the Housing Register, how applicants are prioritised and how the Council manages the allocation of available properties.
Bidding: The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme. Housing applicants can bid on available properties.
Priority band: The Council places applicants who qualify to join the housing register in a priority band from Band 1 (highest priority) to Band 4 (lowest priority). This priority is the first factor the Council uses to allocate a property.
Registration date: This is the date on which the Council first placed an application into a priority band. It is used to prioritise between applicants within the same band.
Band 2: The Council awards band 2 where social housing tenants within the Council’s area are currently under-occupying a flat or maisonette and are willing to move to a smaller sized property.
Unacceptable behaviour: Applicants do not qualify to join the housing register where their behaviour is deemed to be unacceptable. This includes applicants with a recoverable housing related debt associated with a former tenancy.
Overview
Miss B is sight impaired and has a medical condition which affects her mobility. She lives in a two-bedroom ground floor Council property. After Miss B’s daughter moved out, she applied to join the Council’s housing register so that she could move to a one-bedroom property. She was particularly concerned about bedroom tax.
The Council assessed Miss B’s application in July 2020. It wrote to Miss B explaining that her application had been closed because she had an outstanding housing related debt of £365 which she had not made an arrangement to repay. It said the debt was rent arrears from a previous council tenancy.
Miss B then made a formal complaint to the Council. She disputed that she had any housing related debt. Miss B asked the Council to respond to her complaint by post.
The Council responded to Miss B’s complaint by email. It received a notification that the email had not been delivered.
Miss B then complained to the Council that it had not responded to her previous complaint. She said a Council officer had confirmed to her over the phone that she did not have rent arrears, and that the housing related debt was a fixed penalty for leaving a fridge freezer and some rubbish bags when her tenancy ended at a previous property. Miss B disputed that she had left anything behind. Miss B also complained that her calls were not being returned.
In the Council’s response to Miss B’s complaint, it accepted that Miss B had been sent conflicting information about the housing related debt. It apologised and confirmed that she did not have any rent arrears. The Council advised Miss B to submit a fresh housing application.
Miss B submitted another housing application in November 2021. The Council accepted Miss B onto the Council’s housing register in January 2022 and has since written off the housing related debt.
Analysis Housing related debt The Council’s records show that, in 2014, Miss B accepted that she had left a fridge and some black bags when her tenancy ended earlier that year. Miss B disputes this.
The Council’s records show that it referred the debt to bailiffs but they were unable to collect it from Miss B. In February 2015, the Council recommended that the debt be written off, and in 2018 it recorded that the debt had been written off.
The Council’s procedures state that applicants can join the housing register if there is an unrecoverable debt under the Limitation Act 1980, for example, a debt older than 6 years where no contact has been made.
The Council argues that this debt was recoverable because Miss B spoke to the Council about it in 2018. But this was about a different debt of £21, which she then paid. The Council noted in 2018 that Miss B did not have any recoverable housing related debt and it accepted Miss B onto the housing register.
I consider the Council was wrong to decide that Miss B could not join the housing register in 2021 because the debt was unrecoverable and should have been written off. This was fault.
I have considered how Miss B has been affected by the Council’s wrong decision. If there had been no fault, I consider Miss B would have joined the housing register by 20 April 2021 (six weeks after she applied). She would have been in band 2 because she is under-occupying a flat. Miss B would then have been able to bid and may have been offered a suitable smaller property.
It appears the Council has reduced Miss B’s housing benefit due to the bedroom tax, and so Miss B has been paying rent which she would not have had to pay if she had been able to move to a smaller property. If there had been no fault by the Council, I consider it likely that Miss B would have received discretionary housing payments to cover the bedroom tax while she was actively seeking a smaller property, and she would not have had to pay bedroom tax if she had moved to a smaller property. I therefore consider the Council should refund any additional rent Miss B has had to pay due to the bedroom tax, and I do not consider Miss B should have to pay any additional rent while she is actively bidding for one-bedroom properties.
Reasonable adjustments The Council’s records show that in 2018, it agreed to send correspondence to Miss B in large print and by post. The Council generally did so in 2018, but most correspondence since 2021 has been sent in standard sized print and by email.
I have not seen any evidence to suggest the Council has refused to take Miss B’s complaints or appeals over the phone, but the records do show that the Council has not always returned Miss B’s calls.
I consider the Council is failing to make the reasonable adjustments it agreed to make to ensure Miss B is not disadvantaged. This is fault and has caused Miss B significant frustration and distress.
Adapted properties Miss B says that since she joined the housing register, she has been offered high rise flats, which are not suitable for her disability. There is nothing in the Council’s records to show that Miss B has been offered any properties since she joined the register in January 2022.
Miss B would like to move to an adapted property. She says that she has provided evidence previously to show that she needs one, which is why she was offered the adapted property she is currently living in. However, the evidence I have seen shows that Miss B had Occupational Therapy assessments in 2018 and 2019 and the Occupational Therapists did not consider she needed an adapted property. Miss B was in the process of complaining about the Occupational Therapist’s decision when she was offered the ground floor flat she is currently living in.
Miss B has recently requested another Occupational Therapy assessment. The outcome of that assessment will determine whether she should be offered an adapted property.
Agreed action
Within four weeks, the Council will: Backdate Miss B’s registration date to 20 April 2021.
Refund any additional rent Miss B has paid due to bedroom tax and ensure she does not have to pay any additional rent while she is actively bidding on suitable one-bedroom properties.
Apologise and make a payment of £250 to Miss B to recognise the frustration and distress she has suffered as a result of the failings identified.
Provide evidence that there is a prominent alert on the Council’s system advising that Miss B is sight impaired and needs all communication to be by phone or letter (not email), and any documents should be sent in large print.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Miss B. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman