Dartford Borough Council (20 000 618)

Statement Upheld Allocations 24-Nov-2020

Summary: the complainant says the Council failed to properly manage her homeless application resulting in delay in offering her suitable accommodation and the Council placing her out of the district. The Council accepts it made mistakes and offered a remedy. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault and has agreed a remedy.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council (19 012 492)

Statement Upheld Allocations 24-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman found fault on Miss M’s complaint against the Council about delays dealing with her requests for reviews of its decisions on her housing application. A letter failed to properly explain whether she was entitled to refuse 1 or 2 offers of accommodation. It also failed to give reasons why she did not qualify under the main allocation scheme. The actions the Council took, and the agreed action, remedies the injustice caused.

Runnymede Borough Council (20 003 937)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 24-Nov-2020

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s assessment of his housing application. This is because any minor fault in the way it reached its decision did not cause Mr B a significant injustice. We will also not investigate the Council’s refusal to add Mr B to his parents’ tenancy as we have no jurisdiction to consider this matter.

Medway Council (19 010 017)

Statement Upheld Allocations 23-Nov-2020

Summary: Miss N complains the Council failed to ask her questions about disability benefits, that were crucial in the award of a higher priority on its housing register. We uphold the complaint, as we find fault with the way the Council dealt with asking Miss N about adjustments she needed because of her disability. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

London Borough of Redbridge (20 005 356)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 18-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Portsmouth City Council (19 011 660)

Statement Upheld Allocations 18-Nov-2020

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s decision to offer her a property in July 2019 which she considered was unsuitable for her needs. It was not fault to make that offer, and the Council later withdrew it, but there was some fault in the way it dealt with her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X for its handling of her complaint.

London Borough of Barnet (19 010 758)

Statement Upheld Allocations 18-Nov-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains on behalf of her son, Mr Y, that the Council delayed in accepting a homelessness application from him and failed to consider his medical records. She also complains that the Council failed to communicate with her and did not escalate her complaint to stage 2 of its complaints procedure. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault in failing to review Mr Y’s personalised housing plan and in failing to notify him that the prevention duty had ended. It also failed to communicate with Mrs X and escalate her complaint to stage 2. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and Mr Y and make a payment.

London Borough of Havering (20 005 876)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 17-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

London Borough of Ealing (20 006 069)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 16-Nov-2020

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

Buckinghamshire Council (20 004 753)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 16-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to let the complainant join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.