Birmingham City Council (20 005 858)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 23-Dec-2020

Summary: The Council was not at fault in the way it considered Mr F’s request for a review of its decision to provide him housing. This is because the Council granted Mr F a review of its decision, as requested. On this basis, the Ombudsman cannot add to the outcome already provided by the Council. Further, the Ombudsman has not identified fault in the way the Council considered Mr F’s housing application.

Birmingham City Council (19 018 497)

Statement Upheld Allocations 22-Dec-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council unfairly excluded him from the housing register. He says this has caused him an injustice as he has been unable to bid for suitable properties to live in since the Council’s review. We find the Council was at fault. It has agreed to look at Mr X’s case again.

London Borough of Hillingdon (19 020 660)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 21-Dec-2020

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to consider her and her daughter, Y’s medical needs when it placed her in her current housing band. She also complained the Council would not accept that she has lived in its borough for over 10 years. Ms X said this has caused her and Y distress and inconvenience. There was no fault in the Council’s management of Ms X’s housing banding.

Birmingham City Council (20 003 201)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 18-Dec-2020

Summary: Mr X’s representative complained the Council did not handle properly Mr X’s application to join the housing register. We should not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

London Borough of Wandsworth (19 016 712)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 17-Dec-2020

Summary: The Council is not at fault for failing to make an offer of housing. It has followed its policy and given the application a high priority. It has not made an offer due to the shortage of accommodation.

Leicester City Council (19 018 397)

Statement Upheld Allocations 17-Dec-2020

Summary: The Council failed to issue the correct decisions about Mrs X’s homelessness on time and did not consider the affordability of interim accommodation. There is no fault in how the Council handled her application for social housing. The Council should apologise, pay Mrs X £1400, and issue new decisions.

London Borough of Haringey (19 018 513)

Statement Upheld Allocations 16-Dec-2020

Summary: Miss B, complains the Council delayed dealing with her housing application, including deciding the number of bedrooms for which she is eligible. Miss B says this prevented her being able to move into suitable accommodation sooner and caused her avoidable uncertainty and frustration. The Council was at fault because it delayed awarding her the correct housing priority and deciding how many bedrooms the family was eligible for. The delay caused Miss B injustice but did not stop her from being rehoused. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy this injustice.

London Borough of Haringey (19 019 497)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 15-Dec-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council was at fault in not properly considering the housing situation of Ms Y, his ex-partner and their children and their wish to move from unsanitary living conditions. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters so have completed our investigation.

Watford Borough Council (19 015 615)

Statement Upheld Allocations 14-Dec-2020

Summary: Mr D complains about the service provided by the Council when he was homeless between December 2018 and January 2020. We uphold the complaint. In particular, we find fault in how the Council determined a priority date for Mr D’s place on its housing register and its decision to exclude his 18 year old son from his household from September 2019. These faults caused injustice to Mr D including that he missed out on the offer of a three bed property to meet his housing need. The Council accepts these findings and at the end of this statement we set out the action it has agreed to take to remedy this injustice and to avoid a repeat.

Surrey Heath Borough Council (20 007 539)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 14-Dec-2020

Summary: We 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.