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 the moderate medical award is insufficient for her and her daughter to be able to bid on suitable ground floor vacancies which their medical needs require.

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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. I have also considered the Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X is a tenant of a first-floor council-rented property. She says she has a medical condition and her daughter also has medical needs which affect her mobility. She applied to the Council for a transfer to more suitable accommodation.
6. The Council assessed her application and awarded 150 points for moderate medical needs which makes her eligible to apply for ground floor level accommodation to suit her mobility problems with steps. The Council told her that after an assessment her medical needs are not sufficient to meet the higher medical award under its allocation scheme. She asked for a review of the award because she says her current home is unsuitable for her needs.
7. The review upheld the original assessment of her application. The Council told her that she can bid on ground floor or other level accommodation but did not award her any additional points and concluded that her current home is suitable for her needs in terms of overcrowding.
8. 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

9. 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