Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the housing register because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. In addition, part of the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about the way the Council has handled her housing application since 2012. She says the Council omitted her son from the application and did not tell her the outcome of a medical assessment in 2019. Ms X wants the Council to make her a direct offer.

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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 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 an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered the housing allocation policy and comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Allocations policy

5. People who live in accommodation that is too small by one bedroom qualify for the general band on the housing register with 10 points.
6. The Council can award medical priority if someone has a serious medical condition which is made worse by the accommodation. The Council places people in the general band, with 10 points, if someone has an urgent need to move but the applicant is not at risk due to the inadequacy of the home.
7. The policy says the points are not accumulative. If someone qualifies for points in more than one area (for example, medical and overcrowding) then the Council awards whichever area gives the most points.
8. The Council can make a direct offer in the most urgent of cases. The Council can make a direct offer to people in the Emergency, Urgent Case or Exceptional Case bands.
9. The policy does not say the Council will offer housing once someone has been in the general band for four years.

What happened

10. Ms X lives in a one bedroom flat with her son. She lives on the second floor in a building with a lift. She joined the housing register in 2012. Ms X is in the general band, with 10 points, because she lacks one bedroom.
11. Ms X applied for medical priority in late 2019. The Council decided not to award medical priority. It is aware Ms X has some back and heart problems but there is a lift and the cardiologist report did not say Ms X cannot manage stairs. Ms X says she did not get the letter in January telling her the outcome. She also says the Council did not ask her doctors whether she could manage stairs and did not invite her to apply for medical priority in 2012.
12. Ms X complained to the Council about her son being missed from her housing application. She also complained about not knowing the medical outcome and about the length of time she has been waiting. Ms X said the Council had breached its policy because she had been in the general band since 2012 and she had been told everyone is moved after four years.
13. The Council said Ms X’s son had not been missed from the application and it had sent a letter in 2018 confirming he was part of the application. It also sent a screenshot showing Ms X and her son are registered for a two bedroom home. It confirmed Ms X is in the correct band because she lacks a bedroom and it confirmed it had sent the medical review decision in January. It said she can ask for a new medical review if her health has significantly deteriorated or after February 2021. The Council said the average waiting time for a two bedroom property is 19 years. The Council suggested Ms X consider alternative options to social housing. The Council said it cannot make her a direct offer.

Assessment

14. I will not start an investigation because part of the complaint is late. Ms X says she is complaining about how the Council has handled her application since 2012. But, the law says people should complain to the Ombudsman within one year. For this reason I will only consider the more recent events.
15. Ms X says the Council did not place her son on the housing application. However, the Council confirmed his registration in 2018 and Ms X accepts she was able to bid for a two bedroom home. If her son was missing from the application then Ms X would only have been able to bid for a one bedroom home. If that were the case then it is reasonable to expect that Ms X would have immediately queried this with the Council. In addition, priority within the bands is assessed on waiting time and the Council has confirmed Ms X is registered from 2012. There is no suggestion of fault in relation to Ms X’s son.
16. Ms X says the Council did not tell her the outcome of medical assessment. I have seen the letter the Council sent in January and I do not know why Ms X did not receive it as the Council used the right address. The Council has explained why it did not award medical priority and it considered all the relevant issues. This includes deciding that it is the responsibility of the landlord to ensure the lift works; providing the lift works then Ms X has no trouble accessing the flat.
17. In addition, even if the Council awarded medical priority it would only be at the lower level and attract 10 points. As Ms X has 10 points due to the overcrowding her priority would not increase. Ms X would not qualify for the higher medical award of 100 points because this is only awarded in the most serious of cases and this is not supported by any of the evidence.
18. Ms X says the Council told her it must house everyone in the general band who has been waiting for more than four years. But, the policy does not say this. Instead, the Council explained that due to the shortage of social housing, Ms X may have to wait nearly 20 years for a larger home.
19. Ms X says the Council should make a direct offer. The Council only makes direct offers to people with the most urgent need and not to people in the general band. The Council’s decision not to make a direct offer is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
20. Ms X has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Council has treated her. For example, she reports delayed replies and being asked to submit information she had already provided. But, while I appreciate her frustration, I have not seen anything which suggests we need to start an investigation. The key issue is the shortage of social housing rather than fault by the Council.

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Final decision

21. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because part of the complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman