Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her housing register application. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would find the Council was at fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains about the Council’s handling of her housing application. Miss B says the Council did not increase her priority for re-housing after she gave birth to her second child. Miss B is living in overcrowded conditions and says the Council has not given proper consideration to her circumstances. Miss B would like the Council to help her move to more suitable housing.

Back to top

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 or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Miss B’s complaint form and the supporting documents she sent. The documents include Miss B’s request for a review of the Council’s decision not to increase her housing priority, and the Council’s review decision. I have also sent Miss B a draft version of this statement and invited her comments.

Back to top

What I found

Legal background – housing allocations

4. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme.  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
5. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;

(Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

6. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme.
7. The Council’s housing allocations policy sets out how the Council prioritises applications it receives for housing. The policy includes a section on overcrowding. It says: ‘Points are awarded for each bedroom that a household is short of, as determined by the bedroom standard, capped to a maximum of two bedrooms short.’
8. The bedroom standard allocates a separate bedroom to:
• Every adult couple (married or unmarried)
• Any other adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children of the same sex under 16
• Any two children aged under 10
• Any other child.
9. The policy says the Council will award 10 points for each bedroom lacking subject to a maximum of 20 points.

What happened

10. Miss B lives in a three bedroom house with her parents and brother. Miss B shares a bedroom with her one year old daughter.
11. Miss B put in an application to join the Council’s housing register. The Council awarded her application 25 points. This included an award of 10 points for overcrowding.
12. Miss B asked the Council to reconsider her housing priority after she had her second child (a boy). The Council decided not to increase Miss B’s priority of 25 points.
13. Miss B asked the Council to review this decision. Miss B said in her bedroom she has a double bed and a cot. Miss B told the Council that when her son is four months old he would need his own cot, but there is not enough space in her bedroom. Miss B also said the overcrowding was affecting her daughter’s sleep and causing tension with her parents because her children’s toys were taking up a lot of the living space.
14. The Council considered Miss B’s representations but did not change its decision. The Council said Miss B’s household had a two-bedroom need because her children can share a bedroom until her daughter is ten years old. The Council said this means Miss B’s household is short of one bedroom, so ten points should be awarded for overcrowding.
15. Miss B then complained to us.

Assessment

16. I understand why Miss B thought she would be awarded a greater priority for re-housing after the birth of her second child. But, the information does not suggest the Council’s decision was affected by fault.
17. The Council considered relevant factors including the age and gender of Miss B’s children and the number of bedrooms available to them. The Council explained why it did not increase Miss B’s overcrowding points. The information strongly suggests the Council fully understood Miss B’s housing situation and its decision is in line with the Council’s housing allocations policy.
18. Miss B does not consider the Council has fully considered her circumstances. But, the Council has accepted Miss B needs another bedroom and has awarded points for this. So, it is highly unlikely an investigation would find the Council’s decision was affected by fault.

Back to top

Final decision

19. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find the Council was at fault.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman