Summary: Ms X complains the Council housed people with lower priority than her and that changes to its allocations policy mean she is now less likely to place a successful bid. There is no evidence a property was offered to someone with lower priority. Ms X’s bid placed her third, no reference was requested, and the Housing Association made no contact with Ms X. While the changes in the allocations policy may mean she will have to wait longer to have a bid accepted, there is no evidence of fault in the process to change the policy.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council housed people with lower priority before her meaning she has been unable to resolve her homelessness. She also complains a change in policy in March 2019 means she is now less likely to be successful when bidding for properties.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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

4. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• made enquiries of the Housing Association and considered the comments it provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and invited their comments.

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What I found

5. Ms X is living in temporary accommodation. Ms X was on the Council’s housing register and able to place bids on suitable, available properties. Prior to March 2019, Ms X was in the high housing need band as she had two or more housing needs. This was the second highest priority band.
6. Ms X place bids in August 2018 for two properties managed by Housing Association Z. The information provided shows her bidding position for Property A was originally 4 and for Property 2 was originally 6. The Council collates all the bids and then passes on the details of the highest bidders to Housing Association Z. It then makes the decision, on behalf of the Council, which applicant will be offered the property. After considering the bids, the Council nominated Ms X in position 2 for Property 1 and position 3 for Property 2.
7. Ms X was not offered either of the properties. She told me she was surprised about this because of her bidding position. She believes the Council may have given inaccurate information in a reference and this prevented Housing Association Z offering her the property.
8. The Council has provided information showing a screenshot of its housing notes. This shows that on 31 August Ms X telephoned the Council and asked for her bid on Property 1 to be withdrawn.
9. The Council has also provided information about references provided to housing associations about Ms X. The copies of the references relate to three different housing associations. I have no information showing the Council provided a reference to Housing Association Z.
10. In March 2019 the Council introduced a new housing allocations policy. This resulted in a number of changes to the qualification and banding criteria. The introduction of the new policy meant all applicants had to be reassessed according to the new criteria.
11. The reassessment of Ms X’s housing register application meant she was no longer given any priority for having multiple lower-level housing needs. She is now in Band 3 on the basis of having one or more housing needs. This is now the lowest priority band. The new criteria resulted in a reduction in the number of applicants entitled to be on the housing register.

Analysis

12. Ms X complains the Council housed people with lower priority before her meaning she has been unable to resolve her homelessness. Ms X believes this happened due to the Council providing an inaccurate reference.
13. Ms X’s complaints relate to bids on properties owned by Housing Association Z. There is evidence she withdrew her bid on Property 1 and so I cannot find fault. For Property 2 she was nominated in third place. While I do not know who was awarded the property, there is no evidence to show it was given to someone with lower priority than Ms X.
14. Ms X is obviously disappointed she did not get the property after bidding placed her third. I investigated the complaint because she said the Council provided an inaccurate invoice. There is no evidence a reference was ever provided to Housing Association Z.
15. I made written enquiries to Housing Association Z asking it for information about this bidding process. Housing Association Z said it had no records of ever contacting Ms Z about this property. As Ms X’s bidding position was third and no reference was provided, I am not persuaded there is evidence to show this property was allocated to someone with lower priority than Ms X.
16. Ms X also complains a change in policy in March 2019 means she is now less likely to be successful when bidding for properties. The changes in policy applied to all housing register applicants. While this has resulted in many people being removed from the housing register, the banding and criteria have also changed. Ms X has moved from the second highest band to the lowest band. This could mean that she will have to wait longer to be the successful bidder for any property. While I understand her frustration about this, this is not evidence of fault by the Council.

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Final decision

17. I will now complete my investigation as there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman