The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, disagrees with the Council’s decision that she cannot join the housing register.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes correspondence about the housing application. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
People can join the housing register if they have a housing need as defined by the allocations policy. People may have a housing need if, for example, their home is too small, the property has a major impact on the health of a family member, or there is significant disrepair that cannot be fixed within six months. People who have been accepted as homeless also qualify.
Ms X lives in a four bedroom property which she rents from a private landlord. She has a three bedroom housing need. Ms X says there is some disrepair caused by the heating system. She also says the property has some impact on her son who has health issues. This includes, for example, sound from the street affecting him, that he struggles with the stairs, and would benefit from a garden. Ms X has rent arrears although the landlord has reduced the rent. Ms X says the landlord has made inappropriate comments and wants her to leave.
The Council rejected the housing application because Ms X has no housing need as defined by the policy. It said other service areas were working with her to avoid homelessness. The Council accepted her son has some health issues but decided the evidence did not show the property has a severe or major impact on his health. The Council said Ms X should report disrepair to the landlord and suggested she contact the private sector team if the landlord is reluctant to do repairs.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I have considered the evidence submitted by Ms X to the Council, and the allocations policy, and the Council’s decision that Ms X cannot join the register flows from the evidence and is based on the policy. Ms X might be able to join the register if she is evicted or if there is significant disrepair that cannot be resolved despite the involvement of the private sector team. But currently, although the situation is not ideal, Ms X is ineligible for the housing register because she does not have a housing need as defined by the policy.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman