Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s rejection of her housing application on the grounds of non-priority. She says her Council home suffers from a water leak which has affected her family’s health due to dampness resulting from it. She wants compensation for damage to her home and a management transfer to more suitable accommodation.

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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 the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council. I have also considered the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X says a leak into her council-owned property has caused damage to her belongings and dampness which is affecting the health of her family. The Council arranged for work to be carried out in 2022 but Miss X made a legal claim under the Landlord and Tenant Act in August 2022 and prevented the work being carried out whilst it was pending.
7. At the same time Miss X applied to the Council’s housing register for a move to another home which was not in disrepair. The Council rejected her application because it says she does not qualify for priority under the scheme. It says she does not qualify for ‘exceptional need’ to move for health or disrepair reasons. It could resolve her needs by decanting her to another tenancy and carrying out repairs but Miss X has refused this.
8. Miss X has complained about the disrepair, decant offer and management issues to the Housing Ombudsman service who is investigating her complaints. We have no jurisdiction over these matters and can only consider complaints about allocations under the terms of the Housing Act 1996.
9. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. I can see no evidence of fault in the assessment of the application under the Allocations Scheme.
10. Miss X has asked to be offered a management transfer to a better council tenancy. We can only consider allocations under the Housing Act 1996 and management transfers are discretionary offers made by a social housing landlord outside the Allocations Scheme.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman