The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council tried to make the complainant live in an unsuitable property and has failed to provide him with a suitable home. This is because we have already decided part of the complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council tried to make him accept a property near to where someone who financially abused him lives. He also complains the Council has not provided him with a suitable home.
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)) We do not investigate a complaint when we have already made a decision about the issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered Mr X’s previous complaint to us and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X made a homelessness application to the Council. The Council offered him a property. Mr X refused the property because he said it was near the home of someone who had financially abused him. The Council did a suitability review and decided the offer was suitable. It discharged its homelessness duty. We decided, in March 2022, not to investigate the complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the court. We will not reconsider this issue.
Mr X applied to join the housing register. The Council accepted the application and Mr X is registered for a two bedroom home. However, he is unlikely to be offered a home because the Council has placed him in the reduced preference band. This is because he refused a suitable housing offer.
I will not investigate Mr X’s priority on the housing register because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I have checked the allocations policy and the Council’s decision to place him in the reduced preference band correctly reflects the policy. I appreciate Mr X would like the Council to offer him a home but it can only do this if he makes a successful bid and this is unlikely because he is in the reduced preference band. This is not something we can change and we cannot tell the Council to change his priority or offer a home.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because we have already made a decision about part of the complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman