Summary: Miss X complained the Council did not award her a high enough housing priority. She said this resulted in her and her son living in unsuitable accommodation. The Council was not at fault with the processes it used to reach its decision. We do not uphold Miss X’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not award her a high enough housing priority. She said this has resulted in her and her son living in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary. She said the property has problems inside the flat and within the communal areas:
• The flat has damp and mould on the walls.
• The flat smells of raw sewage.
• The external door is not secure and the stairwell lights do not work.
• There is rubbish, drug paraphernalia and blood in the stairwell.
• A homeless man sometimes sleeps in the hallway.
2. Miss X said the situation is affecting her mental health and her son’s schooling.
3. She would like the Council to move her to Gold banding so she and her son can move immediately.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered Miss X’s complaint and supporting information and have spoken to her about the complaint.
7. I have considered the Council’s responses to Miss X and to my enquiries.
8. I have written to Miss X and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments.

Back to top

What I found

Housing Allocation Scheme

9. The policies in the choice based letting scheme are used by the Council to assess an applicant’s housing need. This sets out Housing Needs Bands which are decided based on different criteria related to property size, property condition, homelessness, and medical/welfare needs. The bands are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emergency.
10. The scheme also sets out the process for applicant registering for social housing. Applications are online and applicants can update their application information. The policy states that if an applicant’s circumstances change, they must update their online application to show the change as this may lead to moving up or down the housing needs bands.

What happened

11. In September 2018, Miss X submitted an application to join the Council’s housing register. On her application form, she stated the reason for applying for accommodation was because she couldn’t afford the rent of her current accommodation. The Council said that records show Miss X was evicted due to significant rent arrears.
12. The Council considered Miss X’s application and sent her its decision in early December 2018. It awarded her a provisional band of ‘silver – homeless or threatened with homelessness’. Miss X needed to provide documents to confirm the banding.
13. In late December, Miss X viewed then moved into a private rented flat. The Council helped her with the deposit and agency fees. Miss X did not update her housing application to reflect her change in circumstances.
14. Between May and August 2019, an MP on behalf of Miss X pursued a review of the Council’s housing decision. He argued the living conditions in Miss X’s flat meant the accommodation was unsuitable for Miss X and her son. He listed all the problems with the flat itself and the communal areas and included photographs to support Miss X’s case.
15. The MP emphasised that Miss X felt she had no choice when she took the flat. He said she had only three weeks of temporary accommodation after leaving her previous accommodation because of domestic violence.
16. The Council carried out a stage 1 and a stage 2 review of Miss X’s housing decision. It considered all the supporting information including photos, a letter from Miss X’s counsellor, and Miss X’s son’s screening report from school.
17. The Council’s internal stage 1 review said Miss X’s cases was borderline. But, because of the alleged effect the accommodation was having on her son and his schooling, the Council agreed to place her in Silver Band on welfare grounds that would be alleviated if they moved to a suitable property.
18. The Council said the domestic abuse case was historic and could not be considered as part of Miss X’s current housing circumstances.
19. As part of the Councils investigation into Miss X’s complaint, it involved Environmental Health and contacted Miss X’s landlord. The records show an environmental health officer visited Miss X’s property. He identified problems and the Council spoke to the landlord about repairs. He did not serve a Prohibition Notice meaning the condition of the flat was not significant enough to effect Miss X’s housing allocation banding.
20. The Council has also offered to negotiate with Miss X’s landlord about breaking her tenancy and returning the deposit if she found somewhere else, she would rather live.

My findings

21. I can see that Miss X is unhappy with her current accommodation. This is a private rented flat, so the Council is not responsible for the repairs. It has visited the property and spoken to Miss X’s landlord about the repairs. The Council said it cannot do anything about the antisocial behaviour in the communal areas. Miss X has spoken to the police about this.
22. Miss X joined the Council’s housing register. She said her current banding is not high enough and no suitable properties have become available. She said she needs to move urgently, and the Council should award her a higher priority banding.
23. The Council moved her to Silver Banding on welfare grounds but said she is not eligible for Gold banding. I cannot question a Council’s decision if it has been made in line with its policy. In this case, the Council has made its decision in line with its Housing Allocation Scheme.
24. The Council has taken action to help Miss X in terms of involving Environmental Health and speaking to her landlord. I have found no fault here.

Back to top

Final decision

25. I do not uphold Miss X’s complaint. There is no fault with the Council’s actions when reaching its decision on Miss X’s housing need.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman