Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s assessment of his housing application. He says he has children from a former relationship and needs a bigger home so that they can stay overnight when they visit him as his present accommodation is too small. The Council says the children are adequately housed with their mother and this is their permanent address so they cannot be included as part of his household under its allocations scheme.

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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. 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. Mr X applied to the Council for rehousing. The Council accepted his application and said he was eligible to bid on two-bedroomed properties. Mr X says he has four children from a previous relationship and that he has insufficient space for them to stay over when he has access to them. He said he should be eligible to bid on 3-bedroom vacancies because of this.
6. Mr X asked for a statutory review of the Council’s decision on his application. The review was caried out and the Council concluded that the original assessment was correct. Under its housing allocations policy, the Council does not consider children who have a suitable home with one parent to be eligible as permanent members of the other parent’s household. The Council was satisfied that the children are living with their mother in a 3-bedroom property which is suitable for their needs.
7. 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

8. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr 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