Summary: Miss X complained about the Council removing her housing transfer application from the housing register and refusing her new application. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because her application was not within the ‘reasonable preference’ category which we can consider. There was no fault in the Council’s decision to refuse her new application and she can ask for a further review.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about her transfer application being removed from the housing register. She also says she has suffered from anti-social behaviour for decades and her landlord has not moved her.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
3. 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’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Miss X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

Back to top

What I found

5. Miss X is a social housing tenant. She says she has complained to her housing association landlord about anti-social behaviour in her area since 1995. She applied for a transfer but says the landlord lost her application. She has complained about this and the failure to stop the anti-social behaviour to the Housing Ombudsman service.
6. In 2019 she found out that the Council had cancelled her application for housing in 2018 when it says she failed to complete a renewal form. She submitted a new application, but it told her that she is ineligible to access the Housing Register because she is currently adequately housed. The Council says she has provided no medical evidence or information which would give her reasonable preference under the Housing Act 1996 for allocations. Since her last application she no longer has dependent children living in her household.
7. The Ombudsman can only consider complaints about transfer applications from social housing tenants where they have reasonable preference status under the Housing Act 1996. Councils can devise their own housing allocations schemes and Miss X does not qualify for any priority under the Council’s scheme. It told her it would review her case if she provides new information which would alter her priority.

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because her application was not within the ‘reasonable preference’ category which we can consider. There was no fault in the Council’s decision to refuse her new application and she can ask for a further review.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman