Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not allocate her a property she bid on and has given conflicting information about what type of property she is eligible for. There is no fault in the way the Council handled Mrs X’s housing application or allocated the property concerned. There is fault in the way the Council handled Mrs X’s complaint as it referred her to the wrong Ombudsman scheme.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not offered her a property she bid on and instead allocated it to someone in the same priority band who had not been registered as long as she has. Mrs X says the Council overlooked her for the property because it incorrectly believed her application said she needed 6 bedrooms when the Council has already accepted that she needs 4. Mrs X believes she has missed out on an offer of accommodation and as a result she has been caused distress as her current accommodation is not suitable for her children’s medical needs.
2. Mrs X also says there were delays in the Council responding to her complaints as the Council referred her to the wrong Ombudsman scheme meaning she was put to time and trouble contacting her local councillor when this was not necessary.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have spoken to Mrs X about her complaint and considered the information she provided to the Ombudsman.
6. I have also considered the Council’s response to my enquiries. This includes details of households who were allocated properties ahead of Mrs X.
7. I have written to Mrs X and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

Allocation of social housing

8. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme.  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
9. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:
• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.
10. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
11. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.

The Council’s housing allocations policy

12. The Council prioritises applicants into five bands with Band A being the highest and Band E being the lowest. Band B is awarded to households who are overcrowded and lack two or more bedrooms.
13. Applicants are prioritised based on what priority band they are in and how long they have had their priority banding.

What happened

14. Mrs X lives in a three bedroom house with her husband, five adult children and a 15 year old child. Mrs X has applied to the Council for housing as the property is overcrowded and does not meet her children’s medical needs. The Council has awarded her Band B priority from 22 December 2016.
15. The Council says Mrs X is entitled to a six bedroom property, however it will allow her to bid on 4 bedroom properties as it has no six bedroom properties within its housing stock.
16. In December 2018 and February 2019 a housing association advertised four
    4 bedroom properties through the Council’s allocations scheme. Miss X applied for the properties but was unsuccessful.
17. Three of the properties were allocated to households who had been in Band B for longer than Mrs X. A fourth property was allocated to a household who had been in Band B for a shorter time that Mrs X.
18. In its response to my enquiries the Council said the housing association could not accommodate the family “due to the ages of all the children not being able to share, so would not have enough rooms for them all”.
19. I have been provided with details of other bids Mrs X has made and all properties have been allocated to households who have been ijn Band B for longer than she has.
20. Mrs X says she does not understand why the Council has said she can bid or 4 bedroom properties but overlooked her for the housing association property.
21. In it’s response to my enquiries the Council said:

“A small number of [Council] 4 bedroom properties have parlour style separate living rooms and dining rooms. By permitting [Mrs X] to bid for these property types the family may be able to obtain a property with four bedrooms and another room which could be used as a bedroom”.

22. Mrs X is also unhappy with the way the Council responded to her complaints. The Council advised Mrs X that she could complain to the Housing Ombudsman if she was unhappy rather than the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

My findings

23. There is no fault in the way the Council has handled Mrs X’s housing application. The Council is applying its housing allocations policy flexibly to give Mrs X more chance of finding a house through its scheme. The Council could have given
    Mrs X more advice about the type of 4 bedroom properties she could bid on but failure to do so does not amount to fault.
24. There is also no fault in the Council bypassing Mrs X for the 4 bedroom property advertised by the housing association. The housing association advised the Council the house was not large enough for the family and the Council was entitled to rely on that advice.
25. The Council is at fault for referring Mrs X to the Housing Ombudsman. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is responsible for dealing with complaints about the allocation of social housing except in limited circumstances where the complaint relates to the management of social housing. Guidance on this is available on our website.
26. The Council also sent its response to my enquiries to the Housing Ombudsman. However, this did not cause a delay as the Housing Ombudsman forwarded the response to me.
27. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has always been able to deal with complaints about the allocation of social housing. In April 2012 our powers to investigate management of social housing by councils was transferred to the housing ombudsman by we retained the power to investigate allocations and homelessness complaints. It is concerning that the Council remains unclear about which Ombudsman can deal with which complaint.

Agreed action

28. The Council should write to Mrs X to apologise for referring her to the Housing Ombudsman. The Council should send this apology within 8 weeks of my final decision.
29. The Council should also provide information to all staff dealing with housing complaints setting out which Ombudsman scheme deals with which complaint. The Council should issue this information within 8 weeks of my final decision.
30. The Council should also review its response to all housing complaints for the three months prior to my final decision to ensure complainants have been referred to the correct Ombudsman. If the Council finds it has not done so it should write to the person concerned and provide them with details of the correct Ombudsman scheme. The Council should carry out this review within three months of my final decision and provide me details of the outcome.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation. This is because I have found fault causing injustice in the way the Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint and the action I have recommended is a suitable way to remedy this.
32. I have found no fault in the way the Council dealt with Mrs X’s housing application or the way it has allocated social housing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman