Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s priority date on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains the Council will not backdate her priority date on the housing register to 2018. Ms X wants the Council to register her as being in band B from June 2018.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered the housing allocation policy. I invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations policy

4. The policy gives priority to people who work or have been doing voluntary work for at least six months. The policy says people should report all changes in their circumstances which could alter their priority (for example, changes in employment status). The policy also says that if someone’s circumstances change and they move into a higher band on the housing register, then the higher band will take effect from the date they become eligible for the higher band.

What happened

5. Ms X applied to join the housing register in June 2018. In July the Council rejected the application because there was a lack of consistent information.
6. Ms X reapplied in May 2019. The Council decided it should have explored Ms X’s circumstances more fully in 2018. It accepted her application and backdated it to June 2018. The Council placed Ms X in band B because she was working.
7. Ms X stopped working in November 2019. She did not tell the Council.
8. Ms X contacted the Council in March 2020. The Council asked for more wage slips so it could renew her entitlement to band B as someone who works. It sent an email asking for the wage slips and explained the qualifying rules for band B, including volunteering. In reply Ms X said she had not worked since November but she was hoping to become self-employed. The Council kept Ms X in band B but said it needed proof of self-employment by 31 May.
9. Ms X did not provide any proof so the Council moved Ms X into band C. Ms X then said she had been doing voluntary work since October 2019. The Council asked for proof which it received on 15 July. The Council moved Ms X into band B and her registration date is 15 July 2020.
10. Ms X says her registration date should be June 2018. In response the Council confirmed the July 2020 date is correct because it is the date she moved into the higher band.

Assessment

11. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The policy says that when someone moves into a higher band their priority date (or registration date) becomes the date they became eligible for the higher band. The Council received proof in July 2020 that Ms X is a volunteer so July is the correct priority date. The Council’s decision reflects the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.

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Final decision

12. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman