Summary: Miss B complained how the Council dealt with her housing situation. She says it failed to send her medical information to the correct department and this has delayed her securing more suitable housing. We find the Council was at fault as it delayed reviewing Miss B’s medical information. However, this fault did not cause her a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained the Council failed to send her medical information to the correct department. She says this has delayed her securing more suitable housing.
2. Miss B also complained the Council has failed to take appropriate action to deal with the anti-social behaviour from her neighbours.
3. Finally, Miss B says the Council is charging her for a property which she was given permission to temporarily live in. This means she now has rent arrears.
4. Miss B says the Council’s failures are having a detrimental impact on her mental and physical health.

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have investigated Miss B’s complaint listed in paragraph one above. I have not investigated her complaints listed in paragraphs two and three as they are under the jurisdiction of the Housing Ombudsman Service.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. 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)
7. 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)
8. 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

9. I considered information from Miss B. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
10. Miss B and the Council 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

The Council’s allocations scheme

11. 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))
12. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises.
13. Applicants who have an exceptional need to move will be placed in Band 1.

What happened

14. Miss B is a Council tenant. She has been experiencing anti-social behaviour from her neighbours for a while.
15. The Council considered Miss B’s circumstances in August 2022 and increased her position on the housing register to Band 1. It said it was awarding her the highest priority because of the exceptional circumstances arising from the severe harassment she was experiencing at her home.
16. Miss B spoke to the Council and said her health was deteriorating. The Council advised her to provide medical information so it could update her application.
17. Miss B’s GP wrote a supporting statement in October. He said Miss B suffers from daily pain and low mood. He said her neighbours had been threatening her and her condition would improve if she moved to new accommodation. Miss B sent the information to the Council.
18. Miss B’s housing officer sent the information to the Council’s allocations department within three working days.
19. The allocations department received Miss B’s medical information in February 2023.
20. Miss B complained to the Council it failed to send her medical information to the correct department. The Council responded and said the housing officer referred her medical information to the relevant team.
21. The Council wrote to Miss B in March and said it had reviewed her medical information. It confirmed she would stay in Band 1. However, it said it would add property recommendations to her application for a level access shower and for level access to the property or lift assistance.

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Analysis

22. The housing officer sent Miss B’s medical information to the Council’s allocations department inbox within three working days. However, there was a three-month delay with the evidence being sent to the appropriate officers and it was not assessed until nearly four months later. The Council cannot explain why this happened.
23. This delay is fault. However, I do not consider this has caused Miss B a significant injustice. Miss B was not any awarded further priority because she was already in the highest priority band. The only change was the recommendation for a level access shower and for level access to the property or lift assistance. There is no evidence from Miss B’s bidding history the delay in adding these recommendations to her application affected her chance of moving to new housing.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council, but this did not cause Miss B a significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman