Summary: The investigation of this complaint will be ended. Mr X complained the Council has not moved him and his friend to a new property. The Council has offered to take a homeless application from Mr X, but he did not want to complete the application so there is no worthwhile outcome from further investigation. Complaints about the management of his friends social housing tenancy are outside jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council had not moved him and his friend to a new Council property. Mr X says the current property is unsuitable for his 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 consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have investigated the complaint that the Council has not carried out the actions it proposed in an email dated 15 August 2022, about a homelessness application.
5. Most of Mr X’s complaint is outside of our jurisdiction. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended).
6. Mr X’s friend has a Council tenancy. Complaints about the disrepair of the property or a transfer/decant to a new property relate to the Council’s actions as a social housing landlord. So, these are outside of our jurisdiction and we cannot investigate.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I read the papers put in by Mr X and spoke to him on the telephone.
8. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
9. Mr X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

10. Mr X moved into a property with his friend who is the council tenant. Mr X wants the Council to move both he and his friend to another property more suitable to meet Mr X’s needs. Mr X’s friend has not complained to the Ombudsman. As I have explained earlier, the complaints about the Council’s actions as his friends landlord are out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
11. Mr X has explained the property is impacting his health and his solicitor wrote to the Council to ask it to take a homeless application from him. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman that the Council had not considered whether he was homeless as it was unreasonable to occupy the property.
12. A person is to be considered homeless if they do not have accommodation that they are entitled to occupy, which is accessible and physically available to them (and their household) and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to live in. (Section 175 of the Housing Act 1996.)
13. In response to his official complaint the Council said it would consider whether Mr X was homeless and if so, offer him interim accommodation.
14. The Council’s files show that it has contacted Mr X and his friend. The Council has said that it is willing to consider a homeless application from Mr X but he has refused to engage in the process.
15. I can see from the Council’s files that it has contacted Mr X to try to take a homeless application and to carry out the actions it proposed in its letter. Mr X has said that he does not want interim accommodation as it would be privately rented rather than a secure Council tenancy. Mr X has said to the Council that he did not want to make a homeless application.
16. The Council has offered Mr X the opportunity to make a homeless application. Mr X has not agreed to complete the application. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable so I am ending the investigation. If Mr X wants to make a homeless application, he can make a new enquiry to the Council.

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Final decision

17. I have ended my investigation and do not uphold Mr X’s complaint. I cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome from further investigation as I am unlikely to be able to achieve the remedy Mr X wants.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman