Summary: The Council was not at fault for allowing Mr X to move into a property which he considered was unsuitable. The Council was at fault for delaying in reviewing Mr X’s housing transfer application. This caused injustice as Mr X cannot be sure whether he can join the housing transfer list. The Council agreed to make a payment to Mr X for the distress caused and complete its review into his housing transfer application.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
1. The Council allocated him an unsuitable property which was not suitable for his medical needs.
2. The Council has not taken action to address concerns he raised about noise and anti-social behaviour.
3. The Council has not reviewed its decision not to allow him to join its transfer register.

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What I have and have not investigated

2. I have not investigated complaint b) as this is about the Council’s management of its social housing. Mr X should complain to the Housing Ombudsman Service if he wants this complaint considered. I have also not included details of matters relating to complaint b) in the ‘what happened’ section below.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We 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)
5. 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

6. As part of this investigation I considered the information provided by Mr X. I discussed the complaint over the telephone with Mr X. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information I received in response. I sent a draft of this decision to Mr X and the Council and considered comments received in response.

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What I found

Law and guidance

7. 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))
8. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:
• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.
9. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
10. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.
11. Statutory guidance on the allocation of accommodation says:
• review procedures should be clear and fair with timescales for each stage of the process;
• there should be a timescale for requesting a review - 21 days is suggested as reasonable;
• the review should be carried out by an officer senior to the original decision maker, or by a panel not including the original decision maker;
• reviews should normally be completed within a set deadline - 8 weeks is suggested as reasonable.

What happened

12. In August 2019, Mr X joined the Council’s housing register after being homeless. Mr X moved into temporary accommodation in November 2019. In November 2020, the Council moved Mr X into Band one on its housing register so he could find a property sooner. The notes on Mr X’s case suggest his temporary accommodation had become unsuitable.
13. In November 2020, Mr X placed a bid on a property. Mr X was unable to view the property at this time due to Covid 19 restrictions, however the Council arranged for him to view the property in February 2021 when it was possible to do so.
14. After viewing the property Mr X accepted it and moved into the property in March 2021. Mr X said after moving into the property he spent money redecorating.
15. In May 2022, Mr X contacted the Council and complained that his property was unsuitable for him. Mr X raised concerns about people slamming the front gate to the building, which is near to his bedroom. Mr X said the gate did not do this when he initially went to view the property. Mr X also said residents were slamming the bin store doors which were near to his lounge. Mr X raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in the communal areas and his neighbour above him who had laminate flooring.
16. In early July 2022, the Council met with Mr X to discuss his concerns about the property. The Council completed a housing transfer application form with Mr X.
17. On 8 July 2022, the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. The Council told Mr X it was looking at what it could do to minimise the noise from the front gate and noise in the building. The Council said if Mr X wanted to move properties he would need to complete a transfer application form.
18. In September 2022, Mr X provided the Council with information from his consultant which detailed he suffered with seizures and explained how noise has a negative impact on Mr X.
19. Mr X chased the Council in October 2022 for a response to his transfer application. The Council provided Mr X with its decision on 27 October 2022. The Council decided Mr X could not join the transfer register as there was not sufficient evidence to show how his current accommodation affected his daily living on medical grounds.
20. In early November 2022, Mr X asked the Council to review its decision not to allow him to join the transfer register. Mr X said the Council had not properly considered the impact of the noise at the property on his health.
21. Mr X contacted the Council again in January 2023 as he had not received a review decision on his housing application. In February 2023, Mr X completed another housing transfer form on the same grounds. Mr X also contacted the Ombudsman as he had not received a response from the Council.
22. After we contacted the Council, it agreed to look at Mr X’s complaint at the next stage of its complaints process.
23. The Council provided Mr X with its final response to his complaint in March 2023.
• The Council said Mr X’s housing application was unsuccessful as he had not provided enough evidence to show how his current property affects his daily living.
• The Council apologised for the delay in reviewing Mr X’s housing application.
• The Council apologised for the delays in progressing the actions it agreed to take following the stage one response. This included looking at steps to reduce the noise from the gate and issues with anti-social behaviour.
• The Council offered Mr X £300 for the impact of these delays.
24. Mr X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman, Mr X said the Council should have insured the tenant above did not have laminate flooring. Mr X wants the Council to refund his redecorating costs and the rent he has paid on the property.
25. In response to our enquiries the Council recognised there were delays in reviewing Mr X’s housing transfer application. The Council said this was in part due to the complexities of his case and the need to consider whether there was housing available for him in the area.
26. The Council also said its housing assessment and allocations service was undergoing a major restructuring of its database and team. The team managing these applications was reduced from 14 full-time employees to 4 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees. The Council said the Covid 19 pandemic also led to an influx of housing allocation re-assessments and reviews and the team would not receive an increase in staff to cope with the increasing demand.
27. In addition the Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities has made directions under the Local Government Act 1999, one of which requires the Council to “improve the capability and capacity” of its housing service.

Analysis

The Council’s decision to allocate Mr X his current property

28. In November 2020 the Council moved Mr X to the highest Band on its housing register. As a result, he placed a successful bid on his current property. Mr X also viewed the property before deciding whether to accept it. I am satisfied the Council was not at fault for allowing Mr X to accept this property. The property met the requirements Mr X needed at the time.
29. In relation to the noise issues which Mr X said have made the property unsuitable, I have not seen evidence that these existed at the time Mr X moved in. In correspondence with the Council Mr X said the gate was not making this noise when he went to view the property. In addition, Mr X spent time decorating the property and did not report the noise issues until May 2022. If the noise issued had existed when Mr X moved into the property in March 2021, I would have expected him to report these to the Council at that time.
30. Mr X alleged the Council did not properly check whether the tenant living above him had installed laminate flooring. Mr X said he had a conversation with a Council officer who told him the Council had carried out the necessary checks and no one in the building except tenants on the ground floor were allowed to have laminate flooring. In response to my enquiries the Council was unable to confirm what was discussed with Mr X before he moved in and the officer who dealt with the case had left the Council’s employment.
31. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened. In this case I cannot say what was discussed with Mr X before he moved into the property or whether the Council checked whether the property upstairs had laminate flooring. However, Mr X does acknowledge the Council told him tenants living on floors one and above were not allowed to have laminate flooring. On balance I am satisfied the Council believed tenants above Mr X would not have laminate flooring.

Delays in carrying out a review into Mr X’s housing application

32. The Council was at fault for delaying in processing Mr X’s housing application. Mr X initially completed a housing transfer application form in July 2022 but did not receive a decision until late October 2022. After asking the Council to review the decision in November 2022, Mr X has still not received a review decision.
33. In response to our enquiries the Council said due to the complexities of Mr X’s case it told him the review would take longer than 56 days. The Council said it needed to consider the housing circumstances in the borough and whether it had any accommodation it could offer Mr X. This was fault. The Council must only decide whether Mr X’s circumstances merit him being able to join the housing transfer list. Questions about whether suitable properties are available in the Council’s area are secondary to this.
34. As Mr X has not received a decision on his housing transfer review, he cannot be sure whether he is entitled to join the transfer list. This is an injustice to Mr X. Mr X also spent time chasing the Council and eventually contacted the Ombudsman as he had not received a response.
35. In response to Mr X’s complaint the Council acknowledged it had delayed in reviewing Mr X’s housing application. This is welcomed. The Council also offered Mr X £300 in recognition of the delays, however some of this payment related to complaint b) which we have not investigated. It is therefore appropriate the Council should make a payment to Mr X to recognise the uncertainty caused by the delays in reviewing his housing application.
36. Normally, we would also recommend a service improvement for the Council in situations like this. In this case, I have not recommended any service improvements. This is because the Council is fully aware of the issue, the Government has directed it to improve the capability and capacity of its housing service, and there nothing further we can reasonably ask the Council to do.

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Agreed action

37. Within one month of my final decision, the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Pay Mr X £300 to recognise the uncertainty caused by the delays in reviewing his housing application and for the time and trouble he experienced when trying to chase the Council for a decision. This is separate to the payment the Council offered Mr X in its complaint response for issues relating to complaint b).
• Complete its review into Mr X’s housing transfer application and provide Mr X with a written decision.
38. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

39. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Mr X. The Council has agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman