Summary: It came to our attention that the Council’s allocations scheme might wrongly exclude people found to be intentionally homeless. The Council has already agreed to amend its allocations scheme to make sure intentionally homeless households are not disqualified from joining the scheme. It has also agreed to review the applications from the 11 intentionally homeless households excluded from the scheme in the last two years.

The complaint

1. During another investigation, it came to our attention that the Council's allocations scheme might wrongly exclude intentionally homeless households from joining the waiting list.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We may investigate matters coming to our attention during an investigation, if we consider that a member of the public who has not complained may have suffered an injustice as a result. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26D and 34E, as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the Council’s published allocations scheme.
5. I met with officers from the Council.
6. I considered the information provided by the Council in response to our enquiries on this case and on 22015134.
7. The Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Intentional homelessness

8. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
9. An applicant will be intentionally homeless if a council decides they did, or failed to do, something which caused them to become homeless. (Housing Act 1996 section 191)

Allocations

10. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises housing applicants, and its procedures for allocating properties.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
11. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))
12. For this purpose, “homeless” includes those found to be intentionally homeless.

The Council’s scheme

13. The Council’s scheme sets out who will not qualify for social housing. At 2.3.3 of its current scheme it says applicants will not qualify if:
• “the council is satisfied they became intentionally homeless (as defined in the Housing Act 1996 s191) from their last home subject to an individual assessment”.

My findings

14. The law says councils must give intentionally homeless households reasonable preference for social housing. The Council cannot, therefore, exclude such households from its scheme based on their intentional homelessness alone. The Council’s allocations scheme, as written, implies that applicants found to be intentionally homeless do not qualify to join the scheme unless the Council decides otherwise in individual cases. This is fault.
15. In response to our enquiries, the Council has agreed to amend the wording of its scheme to make sure intentionally homeless households are not disqualified by default. This is welcome.
16. The Council said all 11 households it found to be intentionally homeless were excluded from the scheme in the last two years. These households may not have had their applications assessed against the proper criteria. This uncertainty is an injustice to those applicants.

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Agreed action

17. The Council has already agreed to amend its allocations scheme.
18. The Council should also review, and where necessary reconsider, the applications from the 11 households not admitted to the scheme to ensure the decision they did not qualify was based on a criterion other than their intentional homelessness alone.
19. The Council should provide evidence to the Ombudsman of its actions within eight weeks of my final decision.

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Final decision

20. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman