Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to rehouse Ms X when she was a council tenant and suffering from claims of anti-social behaviour by her neighbour. We cannot investigate tenancy matters and these are currently being investigated by the Housing Ombudsman service. Ms X does not have a current housing application on the Council’s housing register for us to consider.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s investigation of her complaints about anti-social behaviour by a neighbour. She says it should have offered her an alternative secure tenancy because of the difficulties she experienced.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
3. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X complained about anti-social behaviour from her neighbour when she was a social housing tenant. The Council investigated the matter over 2023 and she says it did not take sufficient action to end the dispute. She says she believes she was misled into taking her tenancy and that she should be given an alternative tenancy without having to apply to the housing waiting list.
7. The Council did not uphold her complaint and she took the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service. The matter is still under investigation by that body. Ms X complained to us because the Housing Ombudsman cannot consider allocation matters, only tenancy management issues. We cannot consider any of the matters which took place after she became a social housing tenant because this is outside our jurisdiction. We can consider how housing applications have been dealt with under the Housing Act 1996 but Ms X was not an applicant and remains in this situation even though she surrendered her tenancy against the Council’s advice.
8. Ms X wanted the Council to move her as a management transfer outside the normal allocations procedure and we cannot consider this as it is a tenancy matter.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to rehouse Ms X when she was a council tenant and suffering from claims of anti-social behaviour by her neighbour. We cannot investigate tenancy matters and these are currently being investigated by the Housing Ombudsman service. Ms X does not have a current housing application on the Council’s housing register for us to consider.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman