Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council refused to increase her priority for re-housing after the outside of her home was repeatedly flooded by sewage. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the outside of her Council property has been flooded with sewage numerous times since September 2020. Miss B says this has caused her considerable stress and has had a significant impact on the health of her family. Miss B complains the Council has refused to increase her priority for re-housing. Miss B would like the Council to increase her priority so she can move to a more suitable property.

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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 Miss B and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss B says the flooding problem started in September 2020. In March 2021 Miss B put in a housing application to the Council to request a transfer to another property. The Council placed Miss B’s housing application in Band 3.
6. In September and November 2021 the Council considered requests from Miss B for increased priority for re-housing because of the impact of sewage flooding outside the property on the health of her family. On both occasions the Council decided not to increase Miss B’s priority for re-housing.
7. In late November 2021 the Council told Miss B that the water authority had identified that the drain had become blocked and this had now been resolved.
8. The Council said the water authority has said the drain was now free-flowing and it had written to residents in the area about the problems caused by putting unwanted items down the drain.
9. Miss B says there has been no flooding since then, but there have been periods with no flooding before the work was done. Miss B is concerned there will be more flooding in future.
10. The information indicates the flooding was a temporary issue caused by a blockage which has now been cleared. We are unlikely to criticise the Council for not awarding a higher priority in such circumstances which are temporary and can be put right. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman