Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his housing applications and banding review requests between 2021 and 2022. The Council was not at fault. It considered Mr X’s banding review request in line with its policy when it decided not to award him gold banding. Mr X did not meet the relevant criteria under the local letting plan for properties he submitted bids for during that period.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his housing applications and banding review requests between 2021 and 2022. Specifically he complains
• The Council failed to properly consider his change of circumstances and medical evidence in deciding not to award him gold banding.
• Rejected a number of bids on properties within a specific area because he did not meet the local letting plan criteria
• Failed to award him a Discretionary Housing Payment during 2021.
2. Mr X says the matter has affected his mental health and caused him distress. He says the matter prevented him moving closer to his parents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint and considered the information he provided.
6. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiry letter.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments before I made a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law

8. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
9. The Ombudsman normally will not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme.
10. We expect councils to consider the circumstances of each case and not rigidly apply polices. We also expect councils to properly record decisions. Applicants have a right to review a council’s decision about the band they have been awarded.

The Council’s housing allocation policy

Housing bands

11. The Council’s policy allows it to place housing applicants into priority bands following an assessment of their housing needs. Once the applicant is assessed and placed into a band they can express interest in and bid on properties.
12. The Council places applicants into bands based on individual circumstances. The bands are:

• Emergency
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze

13. Gold band is awarded to applicants including those accepted as homeless, those with a lack of bedrooms/or overcrowding, victims of harassment or violence or those who meet the necessary criteria following a medical/welfare assessment.
14. To meet the necessary medical/welfare criteria for gold banding the current property must have a significant impact on the individuals’ medical issues which make it unreasonable to remain in the current accommodation. Examples of this are where the individual has serious mobility issues which are not compatible with the layout of the current accommodation. Silver banding is awarded where the current property has a moderate impact on medical issues. The policy sets out that this includes where the applicant has moderate mobility issues or mental health problems that are being exacerbated by their current housing

Evidence requirements

15. The policy states applicants must provide the Council with evidence of their eligibility to join the housing register and provide evidence of any local connections to the area. This includes providing a local connection by an immediate family member.

Local lettings plan

16. A local lettings plan is an agreement between the Council’s housing services and a housing provider/landlord. It sets out how properties will be allocated and whether there are any specific criteria which applicants must meet. Local lettings plans are usually used for new build developments where a number of properties are being let at the same time. If applicants do not meet set criteria then they will usually be excluded from any shortlist.

Bidding on properties

17. The Council’s Homefinder system allows applicants to search for properties and place bids. Once bidding closes for a particular property the system will generate a shortlist. An individual landlord may then review the shortlist to ensure the property is suitable and any specific criteria are met. The successful applicant is usually in the highest band who has been waiting the longest.

Discretionary Housing payments (DHPs)

18. DHPs provide financial support to help people with rent or housing costs and are applied for though the local council. Council’s will look at the individual circumstances of an application to see whether the individual is eligible for DHP. The council will then decide
• Whether to give the applicant a DHP
• How much will be paid
• How long the applicant will receive the payment for.
19. The Council has a policy which outlines how it considers applications for discretionary payments. Its website explains how people can apply for DHPs.

What happened

20. Mr X lived in a one-bedroom private rented housing association property. Records show that in 2021 Mr X was in the silver band as part of the Council’s housing allocation policy.
21. In early 2022 Mr X submitted a change of circumstances form telling the Council that he wanted to move properties. He said his current property was affecting his mental health and he wanted to move near his family to give and receive support. Mr X said he was struggling to afford his current property. Mr X ticked the box which confirmed he had immediate family, his parents, living in area T.
22. Records show that between the end of 2021 and early 2022 Mr X submitted a number of bids for one-bedroom properties. This included a number of bids on properties on a new build estate in area T. There were nine one bedroomed properties on the estate which were subject to conditions of a local lettings plan. These conditions included
• Three of the properties to be allocated to those in employment
• Three of the properties to be allocated to gold band applicants
• Three of the properties to be allocated to silver band applicants to whom the Council owed a homeless duty to.
23. Additionally, any successful application would need a local connection to the surrounding area with evidence of that held on file.
24. Records show Mr X was not shortlisted for any of the nine new build properties. This was because the landlord decided Mr X did not meet the criteria on the local lettings plan.
25. Records show Mr X continued bidding on various properties throughout the first half of 2022 of which he was unsuccessful on all.
26. Mr X complained to the Council. He complained about the Homefinder system and said staff were rude when he called to query his bids. Mr X was also unhappy about being unsuccessful on bids for properties, despite he says having a local connection to area T because his parents live there.
27. The Council responded at stage 1 of its complaints’ procedure. The response explained the housing association administered the shortlisting process. It explained how the shortlisting process worked. It also explained that the landlord rejected Mr X’s bids for the new build properties because there was no evidence of a local connection to area T. The Council apologised if Mr X felt any of its staff were rude to him.
28. Mr X asked the Council to consider his complaint at stage 2. He reiterated that he wished to move closer to his parents, that he was struggling to afford his rent and was unhappy with his silver banding.
29. The Council issued its final response a few days later. It said Mr X could bid on properties of his choice however as he was in silver band it was a case of continuing to bid until successful. With regards to Mr X’s rent the Council said it had negotiated with his current landlord not to increase the rent to afford Mr X more time to bid on alternative properties.
30. In July 2022 Mr X asked the Council to review his banding. Mr X wanted the Council to put him in gold band and provided a letter from his GP in support. The GP’s letter outlined Mr X’s anxiety and mental health issues. The Council issued Mr X a system generated letter the following day stating the information provided did not change Mr X’s banding and he remained in silver band. The letter to Mr X advised him of his right to a review of the decision.
31. Mr X contacted the Council and asked for a review. He outlined his medical issues and said they had a significant impact on him and it was unreasonable for him to remain at his current property. He said moving nearer his parents would have a beneficial impact on his wellbeing.
32. In early August 2022 the Council wrote to Mr X with its review decision. It said as part of the review it had considered various medical letters from Mr X’s GP between 2020 and 2022. It said Mr X does not have any mobility problems. It also said there was no evidence of any anti-social behaviour or domestic abuse, both of which Mr X ticked as relevant in his review request. The Council said Mr X met the criteria for silver banding for medical needs.
33. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to us.
34. In response to our enquiries regarding Mr X’s local connection to area T and his unsuccessful bids on the new build properties in that area, the Council said Mr X first provided evidence of his local connection to area T in August 2022 when he sent a copy of his parent’s water bill.

Discretionary Housing Payment

35. In his complaint to us Mr X raised issues about the Council’s consideration of his application for DHP. Although this did not form part of his complaint to the Council I used my discretion to consider this matter.
36. The Council explained Mr X has received DHP to help meet the shortfall in his rent at various times between 2018 and present. Mr X received £110.01 per month between May 2020 and March 2021. He then contacted the Council in February 2022 requesting further DHPs which he wanted backdating for 12 months. The Council said it awarded Mr X a one-off £1,000 payment and then awarded Mr X a further £50 per month DHP between April and September 2022.
37. Since complaining to us the Council said Mr X has been successful in securing a move to a new property in area T close to his parents.

My findings

Mr X’s banding review request

38. We will not normally find fault with a council’s assessment and decision about housing priority or banding if that decision was made in line with its policy. The basis of Mr X’s request to move was around his medical issues. The Council assessed Mr X’s medical needs as meeting the silver banding in its allocations policy. In the absence of any anti-social behaviour or domestic abuse, it decided Mr X should remain in silver band. The Council made its decision based on the information available at the time and in line with its housing policy. It appropriately explained this to Mr X following its review. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

Mr X’s historic bids on new build properties in area T

39. The records show the reason Mr X’s bids failed was because he did not meet the local letting plan criteria because he did not have a local connection. Although the records show Mr X mentioned in his change of circumstances forms that his parents lived in area T, he did not provide evidence to support this until August 2022 when he sent in a copy of a water bill. The Council’s policy is clear that it is an applicant’s responsibility to ensure it provides evidence of a local connection. There is no evidence of Council fault. Even if the Council’s system did show Mr X as having a local connection, on balance, it is unlikely he would have been successful due to the other conditions outlined in paragraph 22.

Mr X’s request for DHP

40. In his complaint to us Mr X complained the Council had not properly considered his request for DHP which caused him to fall behind in his rent. DHP is discretionary, based on individual circumstances. Therefore, as long as the Council has property considered a request in making a decision it is unlikely we would find fault. In Mr X’s case, as outlined in paragraph 35, he received DHP consistently between 2020 and 2022. There was a gap between March 2021 and February 2022 however the Council awarded him a one of payment which reflected that period. The Council also negotiated with his landlord to prevent rent increase in 2022. There is no evidence of fault and as Mr X received DHP further investigation will not achieve anything more or a different outcome.

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Final decision

41. I completed my investigation because I found no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman