Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not allocate her a property she was in first place for, which she said caused her family to miss the opportunity of a suitable property. We find the Council at fault which caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to make a fresh decision considering all relevant information.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council:
1. wrongly decided not to allocate her a property she deemed suitable in June 2023 and did not give proper reasons for its decision;
2. removed her ability to bid after she did not update her application with her change of circumstances; and,
3. reinstated her bidding with different criteria in February 2024.
2. Mrs X says this has caused her family to live in unsuitable accommodation. She says this impacts her and her children’s health and development. She says it also prevents her disabled child having their care needs met.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
6. 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have not investigated part c of Mrs X’s complaint about the Council changing her bidding criteria in February 2024. This is because the Council has not had an opportunity to investigate and reply. In any case, the matter is out of our jurisdiction because it is reasonable for Mrs X to ask the Council to review its decision.
8. I have found there are good reasons to exercise our discretion and investigate part b of Mrs X's complaint about the Council suspending her bidding. This is because the Council reminded Mrs X to register her change in circumstances in July 2023 which is within the scope of my investigation.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered the information and documents provided by Mrs X and the Council. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I have considered all comments received before making this final decision.
10. I also considered the relevant statutory guidance, as set out below. I have also considered the Ombudsman’s published guidance on remedies.

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What I found

What should have happened

Housing Allocation

11. The regulations governing housing allocations in England are set out in the Housing Act 1996. The law says 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.
12. It is the council’s responsibility to consider all relevant information in its decision whether to allocate a property. Councils should not rely solely on the view of a medical assessor.

Suspended Bidding

13. Section 171 of the Housing Act 1996 makes it an offence for applicants to withhold information which is reasonably required to assess their application.
14. The Council’s allocations scheme which applied in 2023 said once applicants have been accepted onto the Housing Register they are required to ensure the information held is up to date. It said applicants must advise the Council immediately if anything relevant to their application changes.

What happened

Housing Allocation

15. Mrs X made a housing application for her family in 2005. One of her children is a full-time wheelchair user.
16. In June 2023, Mrs X was in first bid position for a suitably sized property.
17. The Council’s medical advisor visited the property to assess whether it would meet the needs of Mrs X’s family. They assessed the property could not be adapted to meet the needs of a full-time wheelchair user.
18. The medical advisor’s assessment said it was possible to adapt the entry to the house to provide wheelchair access. However, it said the number of stairs in the property and layout meant a full-time wheelchair user only had access to one room inside the property. It said the accessible room was too small to add a bathroom. It also said the layout of the house meant a lift to other floors could not be fitted.
19. The Council said the property was unsuitable and decided not to allocate it to Mrs X.

Suspended Bidding

20. In 2022, Mrs X told the Council she had another child. The Council sent Mrs X a form to register her change in circumstances. Mrs X did not complete the form.
21. In July 2023, the Council reminded Mrs X to complete the form to register her change in circumstances. Mrs X told the Council she would not complete the form. She said this was because she believed the Council would use the information to discriminate against her.
22. The Council suspended her ability to bid on properties.

Analysis

Housing Allocation

23. Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s assessment of the property. She says the Council made this assessment without meeting her child and so did not consider all necessary information.
24. The Council says it relied on its medical advisor’s assessment in its decision not to allocate the property to Mrs X.
25. The Council says the medical advisor considered the views of a physiotherapist and occupational therapist working with Mrs X’s child. It has been unable to provide records which show this. Without sufficient evidence, I am not satisfied the Council properly made its decision.
26. The Council has been unable to show it considered all relevant information in its decision. This is fault. This caused injustice because if the Council had considered all information when making its decision, there may have been a different outcome. This has also caused Mrs X unnecessary stress and uncertainty.

Suspended Bidding

27. Every applicant is required to ensure their application accurately reflects their family’s needs. I consider it was reasonable for Mrs X to register her change in circumstances. Mrs X could have done this by completing the form the Council asked her to complete.
28. There is no evidence of fault with the Council’s decision to suspend Mrs X’s bidding account.

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Agreed action

29. Within six weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to make a fresh decision with consideration to all factors including views from the relevant physiotherapist and occupational therapist. Once the Council has done this it will assess if Mrs X has suffered an injustice. If so, it will provide a remedy following our Guidance on Remedies.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation. I find the Council at fault and this caused injustice. The Council has agreed to make a fresh decision.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman