Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to allow her to join the housing register. This is because an investigation is unlikely to find the Council’s decision was affected by fault. An investigation into the additional matters Mrs B complains about is not justified.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that the Council has not allowed her to join the Council’s housing register. Mrs B also complains that the Council: delayed making this decision; told her its decision by phone; and, has not provided a copy of her housing file which she requested. Mrs B says the Council has left her feeling disrespected and discriminated against. Mrs B would like the Council to allow her to join the housing register.

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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 or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Mrs B’s complaint form and the supporting documents she sent.
5. I have considered the Council’s housing allocations scheme, which is available on the Council website. I have also shared a draft version of this statement with Mrs B and invited her comments.

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What I found

Legal background – housing allocations

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. 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; and
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others.

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

8. 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; and,
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.
9. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
10. Enfield Council’s housing allocations scheme uses a points system for assessing applications for housing. Appendix A of the scheme sets out the criteria for points to be awarded to a housing application. The Council will not allow a person to join the housing register if they do not meet any of the criteria for points to be awarded.
11. 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.

What happened

12. Mrs B lives with her husband and two young children in a two bedroom privately rented property. Mrs B says her rent is expensive and she cannot find cheaper accommodation which meets her family’s needs. Mrs B says she is at risk of eviction if her landlord wants the property back.
13. In March 2020 Mrs B put in an application to the Council to join the Council’s housing register.
14. In September the Council asked Mrs B to upload documents to support her application.
15. Mrs B says she asked the Council several times for an update on her application and an explanation for the delay making a decision.
16. On 21 October a Council officer phoned Mrs B about her housing application. Mrs B says the officer told her she had a quick look at her file and said Mrs B was not eligible to join the housing register. Mrs B says she asked for an official document saying this. The Council then sent Mrs B a decision by email later that day.
17. On 31 October Mrs B asked the Council to review this decision. Mrs B also asked the Council for a copy of her housing file.
18. On 27 November the Council sent Mrs B its decision on her review request. The Council said Mrs B’s family was adequately housed because their accommodation is the correct size for the household. The Council said because of this it cannot award Mrs B any points and this means she is not eligible to join the Council’s housing register. The Council added that social housing tenancies are not allocated based on the current cost of a person’s accommodation. The Council said it would send Mrs B’s housing file to her shortly.
19. Mrs B complained to us in March 2021. Mrs B says the Council has still not sent a copy of her housing file.

Assessment

20. I will not investigate Mrs B’s main complaint about the Council’s decision on her housing register application. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would find the Council’s decision – not to allow Mrs B to join the housing register – was affected by fault.
21. The Council considered the composition of Mrs B’s household and the number of bedrooms available to the family. These were relevant factors for the Council to take into account. The Council decided Mrs B’s household was adequately housed and did not qualify for points under any of the criteria set out in the Council’s housing allocations scheme. I have not seen any information to suggest this assessment was affected by fault. Mrs B says her privately rented accommodation is expensive. But, the housing allocations scheme does not award points for this, and the law does not require the Council to do so.
22. Mrs B complains about delay by the Council before it made its decision on her application. But, my view is an investigation into this delay is not justified. It is likely the delay would have caused Mrs B some uncertainty about what was happening with her housing application. But, I do not consider Mrs B suffered a significant injustice which would justify an investigation by the Ombudsman. This is mainly because the Council decided Mrs B was not eligible to join the housing register. So, the time taken by the Council to make this decision did not delay Mrs B joining the register.
23. Mrs B complains that a Council officer told her the Council’s decision on the phone at the same time as reading the documents. My view is this does not warrant an investigation. This is because the Council officer provided Mrs B with the Council’s decision in writing, as required by law, after the telephone call.
24. Mrs B says she is still waiting for the Council to provide a copy of her housing file which she requested. I will not investigate this complaint because we generally expect complaints about requests for personal data to be made to the Information Commissioner. But, I note the Council has said it would provide Mrs B with her housing file. So, I ask the Council to do this if it has not done so already. If there is further delay by the Council, Mrs B may complain to the Information Commissioner.

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Final decision

25. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find the Council was at fault for not allowing Mrs B to join the housing register. An investigation into the other matters Mrs B complains about is not justified.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman