Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not provided the complainant with a suitable home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council has not provided a suitable home. She says the Council is discriminating against her. Mrs X wants the Council to provide a suitable home.

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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 complaint correspondence and the medical evidence. I considered our Assessment Code and comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. Mrs X lives with her child and is in band A on the housing register. She is registered for a two bedroom home and has medical priority. The Council decided to make direct offers to help Mrs X move more quickly. Mrs X has declined three direct offers because she did not like the location. Mrs X can also bid for a home but she has not placed any bids since January 2021.
5. The Council explained it has few properties in the area where Mrs X wants to live. It made the direct offers as close as possible to her area of choice. The Council explained Mrs X is more likely to move if she bids for properties as she will then have access to Housing Association properties and, as she is in the top band, she is in a good position to be successful. The Council explained that if Mrs X refuses another direct offer this facility will be withdrawn as it is meant to be a short-term measure to help people move quickly. The Council also explained to Mrs X that she had not provided any medical evidence to show she needed a three bedroom home in order to accommodate a carer.
6. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has recognised that Mrs X is in unsuitable accommodation which is why it placed her in the top band on the housing register and awarded medical priority. It also made direct offers to try to facilitate a prompt move. There is no medical evidence or medical recommendations saying Mrs X needs to live in a specific area so there nothing to suggest the offers were unsuitable as Mrs X alleges. In addition, if Mrs X bidded for properties she would have more control over the location and a wider choice of properties. There is nothing to suggest the Council is discriminating against Mrs X because it made direct offers and placed Mrs X in band A.
7. Mrs X has referred to correspondence with a senior officer. She says he agreed the Council would make a direct offer in her preferred location. The exchanges show the Council agreed to make another direct offer when something suitable came up in her preferred location; the exchange also said there were very few vacancies. This does not demonstrate fault but rather that no properties have come up in the preferred area so the Council made offers as close as possible to that area.
8. The current position is that the Council will make a final direct offer as close as possible to Mrs X’s preferred location. I appreciate Mrs X may not like the location of the final offer but the Council cannot offer a property in the desired location if no properties become available. Mrs X may need to make a decision regarding balancing her need to move and wish to live in a certain area.

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Final decision

9. We 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