Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove Ms X’s daughter from its housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to remove her daughter from its housing register. She says the Council has refused to reinstate her daughter’s old application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 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’s daughter, Miss A, applied to join the Council’s housing register in October 2016. Her application was awarded Band 5 as Miss A was adequately housed. In November 2016, Miss A received notice to quit from her landlord. Therefore, the Council changed Miss A’s priority band to Band 4 as Miss A was now threatened with homelessness.
6. The Council said Miss A had never placed any bids on property and never contacted it until February 2020. During a phone call with Miss A, the Council found out Miss A was no longer threatened with homelessness. As a result, the Council removed Miss A’s Band 4 priority and placed her back in Band 5 as she was adequately housed.
7. In April 2019, the Council updated its allocations policy and decided to operate a closed waiting list. This meant anyone on the register considered to be adequately housed was to be removed. The Council said the process to remove Band 5 applications began in May 2020. The Council sent a letter to Miss A to advise her application was going to be cancelled in line with its new policy. The Council gave Miss A the opportunity to appeal this decision. The Council said it did not receive any appeal from Miss A and so her application was cancelled.
8. Ms X said Miss A was unaware her application was cancelled until February 2023. Miss A said she did not receive the letter nor recalled the phone call with the Council in 2020.
9. An investigation is not justified as the records show the Council did contact Miss A to advise her it was cancelling her application in May 2020. The Council’s decision to cancel her application was in line with the new policy. Miss A was appropriately given the opportunity to appeal the decision but did not do so. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to have used her right of appeal at the time to challenge the Council’s decision if she did not agree.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman