Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council wrongly removed the complainant from the housing register in 2017. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, says the Council told her, in 2017 when she moved to a new property, that she could remain on the housing register. She has since discovered this is not correct and she has had to make a new application. Ms X says she now faces a long wait for a larger home. She says this is wrong because she has a disabled child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the letter accepting Mrs X for an emergency move and the allocations policy. I considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The allocations policy says the Council will close a housing application when someone accepts a housing offer and signs a tenancy agreement.
5. In 2017 the Council accepted Mrs X for an emergency transfer. The letter said the application would be closed once she had been re-housed.
6. In 2017 Mrs X moved from a two bedroom property to another two bedroom home. The Council closed the housing application. Mrs X reapplied to join the register in 2021 as she now needs a three bedroom home. Mrs X says she was told in 2017 that would be able to keep bidding.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. This is because the policy says the Council will close a housing application when someone signs a tenancy for a new home. In addition, the Council explained this to Mrs X in 2017. There is no suggestion of fault and no reason to start an investigation.

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Final decision

8. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman