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

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s review of its decision that her housing application Banding should be in Band B when she believes that she should qualify for Band A priority.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she is in a 2-bedroom social housing flat which she shares with her husband and 4 children. Her children have medical and mental health needs and her own mental health is affected by the overcrowding. She applied to the Council for rehousing in a bigger property. The Council assessed her application and awarded Band B priority for overcrowding in July 2022.
6. Mrs X was dissatisfied with the banding and asked for a review of the decision under s.166 of the Housing Act 1996. The review took place in October and the Council considered all the information available, including a previous assessment by its independent medical advisor.
7. It says there was no new information which would qualify for Band A medical status which requires that applicants or members of his or her household, “have a life threatening illness or disability and the accommodation occupied poses an immediate and exceptional risk of serious harm”. The review concluded that Mrs X’s household do not meet these requirements because no one in the household is in receipt of any welfare benefits associated with a disability/health condition as an indicator of significant level of disability and this indicates Band A threshold is not met.
8. The Council told Mrs X that her housing needs can be met by allocation of a larger home to relieve overcrowding rather than specialised housing for medical needs. Band B is the banding which reflects these needs.
9. We will not uphold a complaint if the council has followed proper procedures, relevant legislation and guidance and taken account of all the information provided, even if an applicant believes that the council should have given more priority to the application to move. 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.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mrs 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