Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint the Council has refused her application to join its housing register. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault with the way the Council has made its decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms B, complains the Council has refused her application to join its housing register. Ms B wants to move from her current accommodation as the person who attacked her partner is due to be released from prison. And Ms B says she has a support network in Rochford but does not have this in her current location. Ms B says her physical and mental health are affected by her current accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information Ms B’s representative provided on her behalf and the Council’s response to her complaint. I have also reviewed the Council’s housing allocations policy. I sent a draft decision to Ms B’s representative to invite comments before I made my final decision.

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What I found

5. Ms B lives in a local authority flat in a neighbouring authority to Rochford. She has applied to join the Rochford housing register because of concerns over the release of a violent offender and because she receives support from her partner’s aunt, who lives in Rochford.
6. The Council has refused Ms B’s application on the grounds she does not have a local connection. The Council has reviewed its decision and confirmed it.
7. While Ms B is unhappy with the Council’s decision, the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Ombudsman cannot question the Council’s decision unless it was made with fault. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault because the Council has considered Ms B’s application, her personal circumstances, the additional information she has provided and its housing allocations policy.
8. The housing allocations policy says applicants without a local connection will be excluded from the housing register. The policy says a local connection is based on an applicant’s only or main place of residence being in the local authority area for a minimum period of three years. Connections can also be established by way of employment or family relationships. The Council has explained to Ms B why, in accordance with its policy, she does not meet any of these criteria. The Council has also considered whether there are any reasons to make an exception for Ms B and has decided there are not.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault with the way the Council has made its decision.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman