Summary: There is no fault with the Council’s assessment of Ms B’s housing priority. Ms B has enough priority to enable her to be first on the short list for most suitable properties. However, the Council cannot give her priority for the housing areas she would prefer to live in as they are in another Council’s area. The Council has made Ms B aware of the options available to her, including offering three properties it considers suitable.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Ms B, complains the Council has not made her an offer of suitable housing. Ms B says that her disabilities mean her unsuitable accommodation for over 7 years has had an effect on her mental and physical health.

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What I have investigated

2. I have investigated events from February 2019 onwards. The final section of this statement contains my reason(s) for not investigating the rest of the complaint.

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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 read the papers put in by Ms B and discussed the complaint with her. Ms B asked us to arrange an advocate to help her make her complaint. We agreed to try to do this, but were unable to find someone. Ms B has commented that she feels she has been unable to put her complaint to us properly without an advocate.
6. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
7. Ms B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
8. Ms B asked for her complaint to be withdrawn if we did not intend to investigate further after considering her comments on the draft decision. Once we have reached a certain stage in an investigation we generally will not accept requests to withdraw a complaint because we need to be even handed and fair to both parties.

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What I found

9. Ms B lives in a first floor flat which is rented privately from a housing association. She says she has lived there for 7 years and says the flat is unsuitable for her needs. She says the housing association has refused to adapt the flat and so she would like to move to ground floor accommodation in which she can use a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Ms B says the unsuitable accommodation is having an effect on her mental and physical health.
10. Ms B was placed in band B on the housing register in 2013.
11. An Occupational Therapists report in 2016 noted that Ms B wanted to move to the neighbouring county. The report said Ms B found climbing the external steps difficult but did not use a wheelchair then, although if needed in the future her current property would not be suitable.
12. In February 2019 the Council reviewed Ms B’s housing application, as Ms B believed that she should be placed in band A (which has greater priority). The review said that Ms B’s application should remain in band B. The notes of the service manager say that ‘band A will not have any practical difference to her application given her time of the waiting list and the availability of accommodation. In reality, she should be top for any suitable property that she expresses interest in’.
13. The head of the housing service wrote to Ms B in July 2019. He said that he did not believe Ms B’s application should have added priority. He also noted that she had recently been first on the shortlist for a property.
14. In response to my enquiries, the Council has said that ‘it has found 7 properties for Ms B (5 units on the housing register and 2 potential new build units) that have met Ms B’s needs, with 3 suitable properties declined by Ms B for various reasons and 4 considered unsuitable. According to the system, all bids have been made on behalf of Ms B by officers, with no bids having been made since May 2019’. Ms B says that the Council is not bidding on properties for her. She says she makes the bid.
15. The Council’s notes show that Ms B was offered a ground floor property in May 2019 and was first on the shortlist. She turned this property down in September 2019.
16. In June 2020 an Occupational Therapists report said that Ms B needed ground floor level access, adequate circulation space inside, a level access shower and accessible cupboards in the kitchen. The report noted that Ms B ideally wanted a property with easier access to a specific large town which under the current system she did not have added priority for as it was outside the Council’s area. At the time of writing this report, the Council is considering whether this report would give Ms B added priority.
17. I have found no fault in the Council’s assessment of Ms B’s housing priority. Ms B has the highest priority in her current band and has been first on the shortlist for all the properties officers have bid on for her. The Council clearly recognises that Ms B’s property is unsuitable and has discussed with her the options she has available. However, the Council cannot do what Ms B wants, which is give her high priority for a property in another Council’s area. It has offered her suitable properties in her current area, which while not ideal for Ms B, would have improved her situation. In the circumstances, I cannot see what more the Council can do at the present time, although I note that changes to the housing policy for the whole of the County are planned in the next two years due to local government changes.
18. Ms B complains the Council has not enough properties available for disabled applicants in its area. While I understand her concerns, I can see the Council has considered her for all the properties it has had available, including new builds and existing properties that could be adapted. Again, I cannot see what more it can do at present.

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Final decision

19. I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint is not upheld as I have found no evidence of fault.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

20. The Ombudsman expects people to make complaints within 12 months of the time they first become aware of the problem. I have not investigated Ms B's complaint before February 2019. Ms B first complained to us in July 2019, but before then she had complained to the Council in 2018 about the problems with her waste collection and housing. Ms B has been aware of the Council’s complaints procedure since 2018 so I do not intend to exercise discretion to look back further than February 2019 when her housing application was reviewed. Events before February 2019 are late complaints and I see no good reason to accept them for investigation now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman