The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to allow him to bid for family homes under its choice-based lettings policy. He says he should be eligible to bid for a family sized home so that his children are not overcrowded when they stay with him.
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’s response.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations scheme.
My assessment
Mr X applied to the Council’s housing register because he says he needs a larger home so that his five children can stay with him without being overcrowded. The Council told him that under its choice-based lettings policy he was ineligible to bid on family homes because his children were not resident with him.
Mr X provided a letter from his GP to support his application which advised that he was suffering from the stress caused by being unable to have a large enough property for his children to stay over. The Council reviewed the application but told Mr X that his children could not be considered to be permanently resident because they had homes with their mothers who were in receipt of child benefit for them at these addresses. It was not prepared to make an exception to the policy for these reasons.
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 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 a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman