Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing allocations because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council was taking too long to re-house her household despite providing evidence of her health conditions and the property being overcrowded. She says the housing situation is negatively impacting on the family’s mental and physical health. She wants the Council to re-house her family in a suitable property.

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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 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X currently lives in a two bedroom property with her family. She is currently on the housing register awaiting allocation of a three or four-bedroom property.
6. In October 2021, the Council allocated Ms X band A, which is the highest priority banding.
7. Ms X says despite bidding on multiple properties, she has not yet been successful. In its complaint response to her, the Council advised her that there were far more people looking for three or four bedroom houses than there were properties available to let. This meant that people were having to wait longer than the Council would like to secure a property. It advised her to consider alternatives such as a mutual exchange, and advised her how to register for this.
8. We will not investigate this complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. Ms X is allocated the highest priority banding. Although she has not yet been offered a larger property, this is due to high demand for social housing and the availability of properties, rather than any administrative fault. Although I accept Ms X’s housing situation is causing her distress, we could not ask the Council to offer her a property outside the normal bidding process.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman