The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to close his housing application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council removed him from its housing register without notice and questioned the need to provide medical and financial evidence to remain on the register.
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)) 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 provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X was on the Council’s housing register and reported a change in circumstances. In line with its policy, the Council requested medical and financial evidence from him as part of its review.
The Council warned Mr X that it would close his application if he failed to provide the information within 28 days. It contacted him regularly to provide updates and remind him of the consequences.
In December 2024, the Council wrote to Mr X confirming that, because he had not provided the required information, it had closed his housing application.
I will not investigate this complaint further because there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision. The Council gave Mr X adequate notice and acted in line with its policy.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman