The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s priority on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms X, says she is facing eviction, living in a mouldy property and should be in a higher band on the housing 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 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X lives alone in a one bedroom ground floor flat which she rents from a private landlord. Ms X is on the housing register, in band three, and can bid for properties for people aged over 50 and for sheltered accommodation. The Council made two offers of sheltered accommodation which Ms X declined. The Council confirmed band three is the correct band.
Ms X says there is damp and mould in the flat. She has multiple disabilities and says she should be in a higher band. The Council did an assessment for medical priority in 2024 but decided she does not qualify. It invited her to re-apply if her heath has deteriorated.
The Council explained it is the landlord’s responsibility to deal with the damp and it signposted her to support if the landlord does not do repairs. The Council says Ms X refused access to the landlord and to the Council to do an inspection.
The Council says it has not seen any evidence the landlord is about to evict Ms X as she has alleged.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I have checked the allocations policy and the Council’s decision to award band 3 flows from the evidence and the policy. The Council assessed Ms X’s medical needs but decided the flat is not having a detrimental impact on her health. However, it invited her to reapply if her health gets worse.
The Council has provided appropriate advice about the mould and Ms X can pursue this further if she allows access to the landlord and other Council services.
The Council has not seen any evidence the landlord is trying to evict Ms X. But, if this is the case, Ms X can ask the Council’s homelessness service for help and provide evidence of the eviction.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman