Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s housing allocations scheme. There is no evidence we would find fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council has not provided her family with suitable accommodation via its housing list, despite her accommodation being overcrowded, with damp and mould affecting her daughters’ health. Ms X’s mental health has suffered.

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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 or may decide not to continue with 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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X and her daughters have been on the Council’s housing list since 2016. Ms X asked the Council to review the family’s priority band based on the household being overcrowded and the property affecting their health. The Council considered the information she provided and decided, in line with its allocations policy, the family should not be awarded medical priority. It recognised the household was overcrowded, but decided it was not statutorily overcrowded, for which there are set criteria in the Housing Act 1985. The Council placed the family in band three, the second lowest priority band, to recognise the household was overcrowded. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.
6. The Council explained that since then, Ms X has withheld rent because of a dispute over service charges. The Council has penalised her for having arrears, in line with its housing allocations policy, by moving the family into band four, the lowest priority band. The law allows the Council to do this and so there is also no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions in this respect. It is open to Ms X to pay her arrears and then ask the Council to reinstate her band three priority.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman