Summary: Ms X complains that the Council’s remedy for injustice caused as a result of its delay in delay in dealing with her application for medical points is not appropriate. The Council’s remedy of a direct offer is appropriate and proportionate. However, the Council is at fault as its remedy does not acknowledge the distress caused to Ms X. The Council has agreed to make a payment of £150 to Ms X to acknowledge the distress caused to her.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council’s remedy of a direct offer is not an appropriate remedy as it has not helped her to move to more suitable housing so she continues to live in an unsuitable property which is harming her health.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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 have:

• Considered the complaint and the information provided by Ms X;
• Discussed the issues with Ms X;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered the information provided;
• Invited Ms X and the Council to comment on the draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s housing allocation policy

5. 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 allocations scheme. A council’s allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in certain categories, including people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing.
6. The Council’s allocation policy provides it can make direct offers in certain circumstances, including if it requires a tenant to move to enable repairs to be carried out to their current property.

Background

7. Ms X moved to her current property via a mutual exchange in 2016. The property is in disrepair, including damp. Ms X applied to the housing register in 2018 to enable her to move from her current property. The Council awarded 600 essential repair plus 30 transfer points. The Council also agreed to make direct offers to Ms X in addition to her bidding on properties.
8. Ms X sent an email to the Council in December 2018 attaching a letter from her GP which suggested the damp and mould in Ms X’s current property may exacerbate her asthma. Ms X told the Council she was sending the letter in case it would enable medical points to be added to her application.
9. Ms X previously made a complaint to us about the Council not dealing properly with her housing transfer application. We found the Council to be at fault as it had failed to advise Ms X to make an application for medical points. The Council agreed to consider if it should backdate Ms X’s medical points to December 2018 and consider an appropriate remedy if it found Ms X would have had sufficient points to bid successfully on a property.
10. The Council considered Ms X would have been eligible for 150 medical points from December 2018 which increased her points to 930. It also recommended that Ms X be eligible for ground floor properties with a maximum of four steps. The Council also decided to make a further direct offer to Ms X in an reasonable area of her choice. In an email to her, the Council said this was a remedy for the period where Ms X did not have the 150 medical points and may have been ineligible for some properties in her preferred areas.

This complaint

11. Ms X made a further complaint to us as she considered a further direct offer would not help her move and her health continued to deteriorate due to living in a damp property. Ms X considered the Council should award additional points to enable her to move to a property in her preferred areas.
12. The Council has said there are limited properties in Ms X’s preferred areas which also have the highest demand. It has provided evidence to show it has made three direct offers to Ms X, including a property in one of Ms X’s preferred areas. Ms X declined the properties as she considered they were unsuitable for her health or were similar properties to her current property so she was concerned they could suffer from damp.
13. Ms X can also bid on properties under the Council’s choice based lettings. The Council has provided information to show the average number of points to enable a successful bid on a one bedroom property is 220 points. So, it considers Ms X could successfully bid for properties as she has a high level of points. The Council has said it has let 142 one bedroom properties since January 2021. Only 5 were let to people with more points than Ms X.
14. The Council has said Ms X has only bid on two properties since January 2021. The Council could not consider her for the properties as they were not ground floor with a maximum of four steps.
15. Ms X preferred remedy is for the Council to increase her points to enable her to bid successfully in her preferred areas. The Council has said it cannot award points under its allocations scheme simply because an applicant has not been able to move. It can make a direct offer in limited circumstances but it cannot make such offers from properties that have been advertised under its choice based lettings. This would be unfair to applications who may have a greater priority for the property.
16. Ms X has provided an email from an officer which states she can only make direct offers from a limited area. She considers this shows the remedy offered by the Council is not appropriate as it will not make direct offers in all her preferred areas.
17. I asked the Council why it did not consider a financial remedy for Ms X. The Council considers such a remedy would not help her move. It considered the most appropriate remedy would be to make a further direct offer. The Council considers it has been flexible as it has made three direct offers and it is continuing to liaise with her to make another direct offer.

Analysis

Remedy offered by the Council

18. The Council has acknowledged Ms X may have been ineligible to bid on properties in her preferred areas due to its delay in dealing with her medical points application. The question for me is whether the Council’s offer of a further direct offer is an appropriate and proportionate remedy.
19. I cannot know, on balance, if Ms X would have been successful in bidding on a property in her preferred areas as there may have been other applicants with higher priority. Ms X does not consider the direct offer will improve her housing situation as the Council has previously made direct offers. I disagree. The Council’s remedy of a further direct offer in Ms X’s reasonable area of choice is an appropriate remedy as it provides a further opportunity for Ms X to move in addition to bidding on properties. The remedy is also in accordance with our guidance on remedies.
20. Ms X considers the Council should award extra points to her as a remedy. Councils must allocate properties in accordance with their allocations schemes. It would therefore not be appropriate for the Council to allocate Ms X additional points as a remedy for the delay in considering her medical application.
21. However, the Council’s remedy does not acknowledge Ms X will also have suffered distress knowing she may have lost the opportunity to bid on properties in her preferred areas. The Council should remedy this injustice.

Direct offer

22. The Council undertook to make a direct offer to Ms X in a reasonable area of her choice. It made three further direct offers to Ms X, one of which was in a preferred area. It has also said it will make a further direct offer. The Council has therefore taken appropriate action. I note an officer told Ms X she cannot make offers outside of the area covered by the housing office. The Council has advised Ms X has now accepted a property. But, should the accepted offer not proceed, the Council should ensure it makes any further direct offer in line with its undertaking to be in a reasonable area of Ms X’s choice.

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Agreed action

23. That the Council makes a payment of £150 to Ms X to acknowledge the distress caused to her as she may have missed being able to bid on a property in her preferred areas as a result of the delay in dealing with her application for medical points. The Council should take this action within one month of my final decision.

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Final decision

24. The Council’s remedy of a direct offer is appropriate and proportionate. However, the Council is at fault as its remedy does not acknowledge the distress caused to Ms X. The Council has agreed to make a payment of £150 to Ms X to acknowledge the distress caused to her which is an appropriate remedy. I have therefore completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman