The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing allocations because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Miss Y complained the Council has reduced her banding (from B to D, a general banding) for housing priority after she had a break away from the area, despite her still holding a tenancy in the area.
Miss Y says her mental health has been affected and she is currently in overcrowded housing.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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 information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss Y has lived in the Council’s area since 2018, apart from a period between May 2020 and November 2021 when she lived outside of London. She made an application to join the Council’s housing register in July 2022.
Under the Council’s housing allocations policy it says it will place those who have not been resident in its borough for a continue minimum period of three years before their application. Consequently, while Miss Y had been in a higher banding previously, upon receiving the information about where Miss Y was living between May 2020 and November 2021, it moved her banding to a lower band, Band D, as she had not been living in the area for the required time continuously, even if she had held a tenancy in the borough.
The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. In this case, the Council has followed its policy in making its decision and in following the criteria it has made its decision properly. Consequently, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman