Summary: Ms X complains the Council will not allow her to remain living in the property she has lived in for over 50 years. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint as the substantive matter, which has been considered by the Housing Ombudsman, falls outside our jurisdiction and an investigation is unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council in relation to matters concerning its Allocations Policy.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says the Council is wrong to make her leave her home of over 50 years because she cannot succeed to the tenancy. She says the Council should consider her unique situation and her ill health and allow her to remain living in the property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
4. 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 or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. In considering the complaint I spoke to Ms X’s representative and reviewed the information she and the Council provided. I gave Ms X’s representative the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered the additional comments and information she provided.

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What I found

6. Ms X lived with her parents in their Council rented property for over 50 years. When her father died, her mother succeeded to the tenancy. When her mother died, the Council served Ms X with a notice to quit the property because under the relevant policy and legislation there can be no further succession as only one is permitted.
7. The Council considered whether it could treat Ms X’s case as exceptional and directly let the property to her outside its normal Allocations Policy, but it decided it would not do so. However, the Council did agree to try and find Ms X a one-bedroom property with a garden in an area close to friends and family and to offer assistance with removal and settlement costs.
8. Ms X complained to the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) about the Council’s decision not to allow her to succeed to the tenancy and its decision not to allow her a Direct Let of the property. The HOS found no fault by the Council. In its report on the complaint the HOS set out its jurisdiction and explained that we have jurisdiction in relation to matters concerning the Council’s Allocation Policy.
9. Ms X has complained to us about her situation and says that it had not been clear which Ombudsman should have been contacted.

Assessment

10. While the different jurisdictions of our service and that of the HOS are confusing to a lay person, the situation was correctly described by the HOS in its investigation report. It has jurisdiction to consider the issues of succession and the request for a Direct Let of Ms X’s home and we have jurisdiction to consider matters relating to the Council’s Allocations Policy.
11. While we do have jurisdiction to look at Council housing allocations, I do not consider an investigation would serve any useful purpose. Not only would we be unlikely to find evidence of fault, but we could achieve no useful outcome given that the Council has already undertaken to find Ms X alternative accommodation and to provide help with moving and settlement costs.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint as the substantive matter, which has been considered by the Housing Ombudsman, falls outside our jurisdiction and an investigation is unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council in relation to matters concerning its Allocations Policy

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman