Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council handled the complainant’s housing application. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the way the Council handled his housing application. He says the Council did not communicate with him properly and he should have been placed on the housing register more than a year ago. He says his accommodation is having an impact on his family.

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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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and information about Mr X’s housing application. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. In January 2022 Mr X applied to join the housing register. He did not supply all the required supporting documents. He chased the Council in March and April because he had not heard anything. The Council started to process the application in May and asked Mr X to provide the outstanding supporting evidence. By July Mr X had provided all the required documents.
5. At the same time the Council stopped processing applications because it was reviewing its policy. The Council introduced a new policy which meant Mr X had to reapply.
6. Mr X reapplied in November. The Council processed that application and placed him in band three because his home is overcrowded. Mr X is registered for a three bedroom property. The Council backdated the application to January 2022.
7. The Council apologised to Mr X and accepted there had been some delays.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. There were some delays by the Council including not looking at the application until May. There may also have been some weaknesses by the Council in keeping Mr X informed of progress. But, even if there had been no delay the outcome would have been the same. Mr X’s effective date is January 2022 and that would have been the case if there had not been any delays. And, because under the old policy there was a 15 year wait for a three bedroom home, Mr X would not have been offered a home last year. In addition, Mr X would be in the same position as now even if he was happy with the level of communication. I acknowledge Mr X is unhappy with the way the Council handled his application but there is insufficient evidence of injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman