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
Miss X complained about the Council offering her two-bedroomed properties under a reciprocal arrangement with her housing association landlord when she says she believes she is eligible for 3-bedroomed homes. She wants the Council to change its assessment of her application.
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, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy and that of her registered social landlord.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X says she applied to the Council ‘s housing register under a reciprocal arrangement between her housing association landlord and the Council whereby tenants are eligible to be offered Council vacancies. She says her housing association landlord is considering her for a management transfer and she is eligible for 3-bedroomed housing.
The Council made her an offer of a two-bedroomed vacancy and when she questioned this it told her that she only qualifies for 2 bedrooms under its allocations policy criteria. Miss X pointed out that her landlord’s allocation scheme prioritised her for 3 bedrooms and the Council should do likewise.
The Council is in a reciprocal arrangement with Miss X’s housing association landlord but this is not a statutory arrangement, it is a voluntary scheme. The Council is required to make all its allocations under the Housing Act 1996 part 6 according to the published housing allocations policy. This includes any offers which may be made to Miss X.
The policy operated by Miss X’s landlord is separate from the Council’s and a management transfer is a discretionary move which is not covered by the 1996 Act. The Council is not bound by any considerations of Miss X’s landlord but only by its own allocations scheme. She does not meet the threshold for 3 bedrooms under the Council’s allocations criteria.
We 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