Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of Mr X’s housing application account. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council prevented him from seeing or bidding for available properties and was intentionally bidding on unsuitable properties.
2. Mr X said he had been caused stress due to the Council’s actions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council accepted the full housing duty for Mr X in March 2023 and placed him in Band 1. Band 1 applicants do not have access to choice based lettings, instead the Council places bids on applicants’ behalf.
7. Mr X complained because he was unable to view or bid for suitable properties on his homefinder account and he was unhappy with some of the properties the Council had selected.
8. The Council explained it was placing automatic bids on Mr X’s behalf and this prevented him from placing the bids himself. The Council invited Mr X to ask for a review if he felt any property was unsuitable. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries the Council confirmed Mr X could not view available properties because he was subject to an offer on a suitable property.
9. Mr X remains unhappy with the way bids are displayed on his homefinder account and believes the Council is intentionally bidding on properties that are unsuitable for him. The evidence shows the Council is managing Mr X’s account in line with its policy; there is nothing to suggest the Council has acted with fault. The Council has also provided Mr X with a reasonable explanation of what has happened on the account. It is open to Mr X to request a review of the decision if the Council makes him an offer of a property he believes does not fit the criteria.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s management of his housing application account. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman