Brighton & Hove City Council (19 002 777)

Statement Upheld Allocations 28-Nov-2019

Summary: Miss B complains the Council has not dealt with her application to join the Council’s housing register properly. There was fault in the Council’s consideration of whether Mr C was part of Miss B’s household, fault in how it considered her review, delay in issuing the review decision and fault in ending the prevention duty. The Council will apologise to Miss B, carry out a fresh review and make a payment to her.

London Borough of Harrow (19 008 351)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 28-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr D’s complaint about his housing priority banding. The decisions Mr D complains about were made in 2016 and the complaint is therefore late. And the Council has invited Mr D to provide new information if his situation has changed.

North Norfolk District Council (19 001 915)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 27-Nov-2019

Summary: there was no fault in the way the Council assessed Mr & Mrs X’s Housing Register priority and the suitability of interim accommodation it offered them. The Council did not give them wrong advice about making a claim for Housing Benefit, and it did not fail to properly consider their reports about incidents of alleged harassment by their landlord.

Worthing Borough Council (19 009 030)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 27-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s housing register application. This is because it is unlikely he would find fault by the Council and an investigation would not achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 002 933)

Statement Upheld Allocations 26-Nov-2019

Summary: The complainant says the Council is at fault in its decision to suspend his housing application. The Ombudsman has found evidence of fault and recommended the Council reinstate the complainant’s housing application and reconsider the priority given to it to remedy the injustice caused to him. The Council agreed.

London Borough of Haringey (19 010 478)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 26-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the housing register because it is a late complaint. In addition, he cannot achieve the outcome the complainant would like.

Nottingham City Council (19 008 399)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 26-Nov-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s assessment of his housing application. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

London Borough of Lambeth (18 013 532)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 25-Nov-2019

Summary: Ms X complains the Council breached an agreement to pay her rent shortfall as part of an agreement for her to care for two children as a special guardian. She also believes the Council was wrong to inform her she was only able to bid for a two bedroom property. She says the Council caused her an injustice by its lack of adherence to the terms of the agreement. She says she had to borrow money to meet the shortfall the Council failed to pay and has now been evicted. The Ombudsman does not find the Council at fault.

Rother District Council (19 002 901)

Statement Upheld Allocations 25-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains on behalf of her daughter Miss Y about the way the Council handled her housing application. She says it did not follow its Allocations Policy before deciding her daughter was not eligible to join the housing register. She says her daughter feels her medical needs justify the allocation of a place on the register and wants the Council to reconsider her case. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault for not informing Miss Y why it rejected her application or how she could appeal its decision. It was also at fault for failing to acknowledge or respond to some of the correspondence and information submitted by Mrs X and for providing conflicting information about whether special circumstances could be considered in Miss Y’s case. The Council has already acted to remedy the injustice that Mrs X and Miss Y were caused by these faults. However, the Council has agreed to make some service improvements to prevent them from reoccurring.

Epping Forest District Council (19 010 263)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 25-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant does not qualify for band A on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.