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 she is in Band B with a B medical priority and that this is not sufficient for her to be successful at bidding for vacancies. She says the Council should raise her 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 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 Policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she has been renting in the private sector for seven years and has had to move five times. Her current landlord has informed her he wishes to sell the property and so she may be faced with homelessness in future. She is on the Council’s housing register with band B status and B medical priority. She says that this priority is too low for her to successfully bid and that she needs a higher banding.
6. Miss X complained about her banding and this was reviewed. The Council told her that she is in the correct banding for her medical needs in her current housing. She does not qualify for the highest medical banding because this is reserved for applicants with terminal or life-threatening conditions and none of her family meet this requirement.
7. If Mrs X becomes homeless the Council will have a duty to provide accommodation for her but this may be in the private sector or other emergency accommodation.
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. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Mrs X should be placed in a higher banding.

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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