The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the Council’s assessment of her housing application. She says she should have higher priority for moving to a two-bedroom house from her current flat.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X lives in 2-bedroom flat and the Council is her landlord. She applied for a transfer to a 2-bedroom house because she says flats are unsuitable for her anxiety. She says last year she was robbed on the street in the area and this has increased her desire to move to a house with a garden. Her mother lives nearby and she does not want to move to an area further away from family support.
The Council says Miss X has Band B priority but this only applies if she considers moving to a one-bedroom property because she is currently a single person under-occupying a 2 bedroom property. The Council says she should widen her area of choice because it is unlikely that there would be any vacancies, she could be offered which would be as close as her current one to her mother.
Miss X says she will not consider a one-bedroom property because her mother sometimes stays at her home. The Council says she has no medical priority for this because her mother is not a live-in carer and lives nearby in her own home.
The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme.
We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. We may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy.
I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest Miss X should be placed in a higher banding.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman