Summary: Miss X complains the Council failed to properly consider her medical conditions when she submitted her housing application. As a result, Miss X says the Council awarded her with a wrong priority band and bedroom eligibility. She also complains about disrepair to her property and anti-social behaviour. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered Miss X’s application.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to properly consider her medical conditions when she submitted her housing application. As a result, the Council has awarded her with a wrong priority band and a wrong bedroom eligibility.
2. Miss X also complains about disrepair to her property (mould and damp) and anti‑social behaviour.
3. Miss X says the Council’s failings has caused her significant distress, financial loss and has worsened her disability and mental health. She also says this matter has led to overcrowding in her current accommodation.

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What I have investigated

4. I have investigated how the Council considered and made its decisions about Miss X’s housing application.
5. I have not investigated Miss X’s complaint about the damp and mould issues in her flat. This is because the matter is out of our jurisdiction. Miss X’s landlord is a Housing Association and the matter is better placed with the Housing Ombudsman.
6. I have not investigated Miss X’s concerns about the Council’s property bidding process and the difficulties she faces when she bids for properties. This is a new and separate complaint from Miss X’s original complaint to us. Miss X needs to raise these issues in the first instance with the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

7. 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)
8. 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

9. I discussed the complaint with Miss X and considered the information she provided. I considered the information the Council provided in response to my enquiries.
10. I sent Miss X and the Council a copy of my draft decision and considered the comments received before reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and Guidance

11. Every local housing authority must publish an allocation 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))
12. Most councils have choice-based lettings (CBL) schemes where applicants bid for properties. Councils are free to decide their own CBL policy.

The Council’s Housing Allocation Policy

13. The Allocation Policy allows the Council to place applicants into priority Bands following its assessment of their housing need. It operates a banding system based on the level of urgency of applicants’ housing need.
14. All qualifying households are placed into one of three bands. Band 1 has the most urgent housing need and Band 2 has a higher need than those in Band 3. Priority is awarded in recognition of an applicant’s current housing circumstances.
15. “Applicants placed in Bands 1 and 2 have been assessed as having high priority and therefore having an urgent need to move.”
16. “When determining how many bedrooms a family is eligible for,…. A separate bedroom is allocated to each married or cohabiting couple or single parent…..”
17. “If the applicant or a member of their household is pregnant, bedroom requirements will only be reviewed following the birth of the baby.”
18. The Council has a CBL scheme, where council and housing association partners advertise their available properties to rent. It allows applicants who are looking for affordable housing to see what vacant properties are available. Applicants can then choose a number of properties they wish to be considered for.

The Council’s Anti-social behaviour / Harassment Policy

19. If anti-social behaviour is causing alarm or distress to you or the community where you live, you should report it.
20. We work with partner agencies, residents, landlords and businesses to tackle neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour.
21. Each anti-social behaviour case is unique so is the way in which we handle each complaint, and our actions will depend upon the nature and severity of each incident.
22. For Housing Association tenants, the investigation must be carried out by the relevant landlord and referred to the Housing Options Service for approval if harassment priority is requested. Priority will only be conferred where severe harassment has been established and it is unreasonable to stay in the current accommodation.
23. The Council says there is a difference between anti-social behaviour and harassment. It defines harassment as ‘‘personalised, deliberate, unwanted acts of violence (verbal or physical) or other behaviour that is designed to cause harm or damage to people or property which is suffered by individuals or groups of people because of their race, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexuality, HIV status, religious beliefs, disability, age or family circumstances.’’

What happened

24. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
25. Miss X lives in a one-bedroom flat with her partner before the arrival of her new‑born baby. Miss X’s landlord is a Housing Association. She lives on the first floor with lift access but Miss X says the lifts do not always work.
26. Miss X has some physical and mental health conditions.
27. In November 2020, Miss X submitted a housing application on medical grounds. She included her partner on her application.
28. Miss X submitted medical evidence in support of her housing application. Miss X said there was mould and damp in the property. She also mentioned her concerns about anti-social behaviour (ASB) by non-residents. Miss X said these issues were affecting her health conditions.
29. The Council considered the information Miss X submitted in support of her housing application. It found Miss X was not eligible for a banding award based on medical grounds. The Council decided it needed to carry out a further assessment of Miss X’s application. This was to find out if she would be eligible to join the Council’s housing register and if so, to establish what priority band to award her. The Council referred Miss X’s case to an Occupational Therapist (OT), to establish how her accommodation affected Miss X’s medical conditions.
30. In relation to Miss X’s ASB concerns, the Council gave her contact details so she could report the issues and/or report the matter to the police. It advised Miss X to inform her landlord (Housing Association) about any disrepairs issues in her flat which included mould and damp. This was so the Housing Association could investigate the matter.
31. In March 2021, Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council. Miss X questioned why the Council rejected her application despite her medical conditions and the impact the property disrepair and the ASB issues were having on her.
32. On 8 March 2021, the Council received the OT housing report on Miss X’s application. The report confirmed Miss X’s required physical support due to her medical conditions. The OT recommended she would need a wet room; a property with ground floor access but if property was over two floors, Miss X would require a stair lift.
33. Based on the OT report, the Council considered Miss X’s property was partly suitable for her needs but that she needed a wet room. The Council registered Miss X’s housing application. It awarded her a band 2 priority and a one-bedroom accommodation eligibility based on medical grounds.
34. Miss X asked the Council to review her banding priority award and the number of bedrooms she could bid for. Miss X said she could not share a room with her partner due to her disability and that she was pregnant. She explained the ASB issues and disrepair in her flat was making her health conditions worse. Miss X also said she was having problems with the Council’s bidding website. She asked for a two-bedroom property with stairlift and a higher priority band to suit her needs.
35. In the Council’s final response to Miss X’s complaint, it maintained its decision to award Miss X a band two priority and one-bedroom eligibility. The Council said it correctly assessed her application and supporting documents in line with its Housing Allocation Policy and it based its decision on the OT report. The Council said Miss X’s property was partially suitable because it had lift access but lacked a wet room. As regards bedroom eligibility, the Council said it correctly assessed Miss X’s one‑bedroom eligibility and it would review the bedroom requirements when her baby was born.
36. The Council said it advised Miss X to report the ASB and disrepair issues to her landlord. It explained its private sector housing team had contacted Miss X’s landlord about the disrepair issues. A surveyor visited Miss X’s property who recommended the bathroom extractor was replaced. The Council said it asked for the surveyor’s report and it would contact Miss X once it got any update from her landlord. The Council said it saw photos of the damp and mould in her flat which appeared to be because of condensation so it advised Miss X to ventilate her property adequately. As regards the Council’s bidding website, it said it was not aware of any issues. It said its records showed Miss X successfully placed a bid and was offered a one-bedroom adapted accommodation in April 2021.
37. Miss X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s final response to her complaint. Miss X made a complaint to the Ombudsman.
38. In September 2021, Miss X delivered her baby. She provided the Council with proof of her baby’s birth and asked the Council to add her baby to her housing application.
39. The Council reassessed Miss X’s application and awarded her two‑bedroom eligibility but she remained in band 2 priority based on medical grounds. The Council said there was a huge demand for housing and a short supply of homes which means it could take a long time to get a property. The Council advised Miss X to consider different types of properties she was eligible to bid for, covering a wider area.
40. During our investigation, Miss X advised the Ombudsman of the issues she was having with the Council’s bidding process. She had been unable to bid for any suitable two‑bedroom adapted properties due to lack of such properties. She also complained about being unsuccessful with bidding for a suitable property next to her mother. Miss X said there seem to be more three‑bedroom adapted houses but the Council would not let her bid for these. She asked if the Ombudsman could help her get the properties she was eligible for.

Analysis

41. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. It is not our role to decide what banding priority or bedroom eligibility councils should award to applicants. Our role is to decide whether the Council followed guidance and considered relevant information when it made its decisions in relation to Miss X’s application.
42. The Council is required to assess each medical assessment on its own merit and seek medical advice if necessary. In this case, the Council considered the information Miss X first provided in her housing application and it decided she was suitably housed in her one-bedroom flat. Based on medical grounds, the Council referred Miss X’s case to OT and it reassessed her application following the OT report. The Council registered Miss X’s housing application. It awarded her a band 2 priority and a one-bedroom accommodation eligibility which was based on medical grounds. This was because Miss X’s property had lift access but lacked a wet room so the Council found her property was partly suitable for her needs.
43. The Council reviewed Miss X’s housing application after she had her baby. The Council awarded Miss X a two-bedroom eligibility but she remained in a band 2 priority based on medical grounds. I find the Council’s assessments and decisions of Miss X’s housing application were properly considered in line with guidance and the Council’s Housing Allocation Policy. Therefore, I do not find fault by the Council.
44. According to the Council’s policy, it distinguishes between ASB and harassment. The Council can only consider priority rehousing in cases where the housing association completes an investigation, has established severe harassment to the applicant and finds it is unreasonable to stay in their current accommodation. In this case, the Council advised Miss X to report her ASB concerns to her housing association and the police. I find no evidence to show Miss X’s landlord investigated and reported any harassment case to the Council to deal with. Therefore, I find no fault by the Council.

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Final decision

45. I find no evidence of fault by the Council in how it considered Miss X’s housing application.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

46. I have not investigated the matters stated in paragraphs 5 and 6 above.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman