Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Miss X’s exclusion from the Council’s housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about being told she her application was ineligible for the Council’s housing register. She says that she needs bigger accommodation to suit her son’s medical needs.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X applied to the Council’s housing register because she says her current one bedroomed flat is unsuitable for her two children, particularly as one of them has a medical condition. The Council rejected her application because it says her current accommodation is not unsuitable for her needs.
6. Her application included medical grounds for rehousing based on her son’s condition. The Council’s medical professionals awarded a low priority of 50 medical points which is below the Council’s threshold for allowing applicants onto the register to bid for housing. The Council told her that her current accommodation was not having an effect on her son’s medical condition but awarded points for the health and well-being of Miss X’s family situation.
7. Because the application did not meet the requirements of its housing policy the Council concluded in a review that she was not eligible to be included on the register.
8. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme.
9. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. We may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about Miss X’s exclusion from the Council’s housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman