London Borough of Southwark (21 008 878)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Nov 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his housing application. This is because his application has not been determined and we would not be able to establish any alleged injustice
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the way the Council has handled his housing application for himself and his family, and the associated delay.
- Mr X says the Council has not correctly considered medical information in relation to the housing application, resulting in the accommodation being unsuitable.
- He also says he and his family are living in overcrowded conditions.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
- The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
My assessment
- When Mr X sent his complaint to us, the Council was waiting for the result of a medical circumstances application for Mr X and his family. The Council needed the report as part of Mr X’s housing application. The Council has now received the report and has communicated the result to Mr X.
- The Council is awaiting further documents to be submitted by Mr X. Once the Council receives these documents, it will be able to progress his application.
- The Council is yet to determine the housing application so we should not investigate at this time.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unable to establish any alleged injustice caused to Mr X until the Council has decided the application.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman