The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s decision not to change his housing application priority in a review. He says his mobility has decreased over the past 3 years and that he needs to have accommodation with a parking space for his car.
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 how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he needs to have a higher priority on his housing application because he has difficulty walking to his car in his current accommodation. He says he needs a closer parking space because the current 70 metres is too far for him to walk with his increasing mobility problems.
He asked the Council to review his housing application and submitted information from his GP and hospital health care notes. The Council told him that he does not meet the levels of housing need to be given priority in the Gold and Silver bands of the allocation scheme and that his current Bronze banding is correct.
The Council told him that his current ground floor accommodation is suitable for his housing mobility needs and, because he is a social housing tenant, car parking provision in the rear car park is a matter which its tenancy management team would consider. It offered him an opportunity to seek a further review to an appeals panel but he did not take up the opportunity.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
The Council considered Mr X’s application and evidence and applied the allocations policy correctly. 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.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman