Summary: The Ombudsman has no reason to investigate this complaint that the Council was not helping a man to be re-housed on medical grounds. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complained the Council had not helped him move from his current accommodation which is not suitable for him because of his health condition.

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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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. But we cannot investigate complaints against housing associations. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr B provided with his complaint and his comments when we spoke on the telephone. I also took account of information from the Council and from Mr B’s landlord, which is a housing association (‘the Association’).

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What I found

5. In 2018 the Council re-housed Mr B into a second floor flat in a block owned by the Association.
6. But after a while Mr B suffered health problems in the flat which became increasingly severe. As a result Mr B said he needed to move to a ground floor property with his own front door.
7. When Mr B approached the Ombudsman he said he had been complaining to the Council about this matter for many months without getting any help.
8. However, in response to my enquiries the Council said Mr B did not have a current housing application under its allocations scheme. The Council also said it had not received any direct contact from Mr B since it re-housed him in 2018, but it had received a telephone call from the Association last year asking if it had any information about Mr B’s case.
9. After further enquiries to Mr B and the Association it became clear that all of his recent contacts about re-housing had been with the Association and not the Council. The Association also confirmed they had not made an application to the Council on Mr B’s behalf for housing under its allocations scheme.
10. In the circumstances I consider we have no reason to investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council in his case.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not start an investigation of Mr B’s complaint that the Council had failed to help him move from his unsuitable accommodation. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council in this respect.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman