Summary: The Council did not send the correct letter to Ms X explaining why her appeal against the refusal of her housing application was refused. That did not in itself cause significant injustice to Ms X: on the evidence the Council considered (and set out in the correct letter) there is no reason to believe its decision was taken with fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X (as I shall call the complainant) complains the Council took her off its housing application register despite her need to move as it said she had previously exercised a Right to Buy a Council property which she did not declare on her housing application form. She says as a result she had been unable to access suitable housing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by 'maladministration' and 'service failure'. I have used the word 'fault' to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the Council and Ms X. Both the Council and Ms X had the opportunity to comment on an earlier version of this statement before I reach a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

5. The Right to Buy scheme helps eligible council and housing association tenants in England to buy their home with a discount.
6. 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))
7. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:

• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.

The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))

What happened

8. Ms X is disabled and has two children: she receives funding from the Council which she uses to purchase 4 calls per day with 2 carers to assist her with personal care tasks, getting around her home and preparation of meals and drink.
9. Ms X applied to the Council for housing in 2019. At the time of her application, she was staying with her mother (and had been for some years) but her Occupational Therapist said the housing conditions were not suitable for her.
10. Ms X answered ‘no’ to the question on the application form, “have you or your partner previously exercised the right to buy or right to acquire with any Council or registered provider?”
11. The Council’s Land Registry searches showed Ms X had exercised the Right to Buy a property jointly with another applicant in September 2009. The Council also found active utility accounts and council tax liability for Ms X at that address.
12. The Council says normally it would have visited Ms X at her application address but this was not possible due to the Covid 19 epidemic. Instead, it contacted her by email and telephone to request details of income, savings and capital. The notes of the Council’s telephone conversation with Ms X states “she claims to have no knowledge of ever owning (the RTB address) and to have never lived there.” Later in the telephone conversation Ms X said it was her aunt’s house and she had stayed there before moving to her mother’s house.
13. The bank statements Ms X provided (which the Council has shown us) were addressed to her at the RTB address and include monthly payments to her aunt (now resident at that address) for £794, and a direct debit to the water board for water rates at that address.
14. The Council closed the housing application in October 2020 and wrote to Ms X explaining why. It notified her of her right to review.
15. Ms X asked for a review of the decision.
16. The Council considered the request for a review. It wrote to Ms X in December upholding its original decision. It said, “You have provided documents that illustrate your address as being (the application address) including driving licence, NHS letters, child benefit and tax credit letters however our records indicate that you have an interest in (the RTB address).  You are the liable person for council tax at (the RTB address) and you continue to pay council tax for this property”.
17. The Council said she had not shown she had insufficient equity to access market housing and therefore her application for social housing was refused. It said she could reapply if she could show (for example, by a solicitor’s letter) she had no interest in the RTB address.
18. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman. She said she had been the joint owner of the RTB property until 2015 when she had to leave because it was unsuitable for her needs. She said she had “signed over” the property to her aunt who still lived there and has no financial interest in it.
19. Ms X also said the letter she received from the Council in December 2020 did not explain the reasons why her review had been rejected.
20. The Council says it unfortunately printed a blank template of the review letter instead of the original letter when it was trying to send a duplicate copy to Ms X.
21. The Council says Ms X started a new housing application but did not complete it.

Analysis

22. The Council incorrectly sent Ms X a blank copy of the review decision letter but that did not cause her material injustice.
23. On the basis of the information it had about Ms X and her interest in the RTB property the Council acted without fault in reaching its decision

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Final decision

24. I have completed this investigation as there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman