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 assessment of her housing application . she says that because she is under-occupying a social-rent home from the Council she should have a higher priority banding than that awarded to her case.

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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 how the organisation made its decision, 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 lives in a three-bedroom property which she rents from the Council. She needs to move to a bungalow because her family was awarded some medical priority and she is currently in Band B on the housing list for a 2-bedroom bungalow. In March 2023 she asked the Council to change her areas of choice so that she may bid on upcoming vacancies.
6. The Council failed to reply with 21 days and she ,made a complaint in early April. The Council replied and told her that it apologised for the delay and her areas had been updated. However, it advised that she was still only including limited areas and 80% of the available areas are excluded by her choice. This would make it unlikely to be successful in moving for an applicant on Band B.
7. Mrs X asked the Council in May to review her banding as she believed she should have higher priority because she was under-occupying a council home. She also provided an assessment of her family needs form a social worker to support her review request.
8. The Council did not change her banding following the review. It told her that although she is under-occupying her home, she is only doing so by one bedroom which qualifies for C-banding on occupation. Only applicants who are under-occupying by 3 bedrooms or more qualify for the higher A-banding.
9. Although the council delayed initially in responding to Mrs X’s requests, her banding has remined unchanged as a result of the review. Her priority was considered to be correct in keeping with the allocations policy. 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. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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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