Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to properly consider her application to join the housing register. She says the Council considered her student loan and bursary when deciding her income. We did not found fault in the Council’s decision-making process.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council has unfairly disqualified her from the housing register. She says the Council has considered her student loan and bursary when it should not have done.
2. She says this has caused her to question the decision made and has affected her mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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)
5. 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

6. I have considered:
• The information provided by Miss X and discussed the complaint with her;
• The Council’s comments on the complaint and the supporting information it provided; and
• Relevant law and guidance.
7. Miss X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
9. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new freedoms to allow councils to better manage their waiting list and to tailor their allocation priorities to meet local needs.

The Housing Act 1996 details factors that Councils may take into account when determining priorities including a person’s available funds to meet housing cost, a person’s behaviour, and a person’s local connection.

Key events

10. Miss X applied to join the housing register in early October 2023. The Council reviewed her application in early December and decided Miss X did not meet the criteria for housing priority. It concluded that her income was above the threshold it set for a single person application.
11. Miss X appealed the decision stating that her income was under the threshold, and it was not appropriate for the Council to have considered her student loan when assessing her income.
12. She provided the Council with evidence of her student loan and bursary. The letter awarding her the bursary provided no information which showed there were any controls on the way she could use this money.
13. The Council wrote to Miss X following her appeal. It explained it had calculated her wages, savings and income from other sources and that this totalled just over £33,000 and therefore she was over the threshold. It explained that it had not included her student loan but had considered her bursary and money transferred from third parties. It confirmed it had also excluded payments made between her accounts.

Findings

14. The Council considered Miss X’s finances and the information she provided. It reviewed whether her funds were available to meet her housing needs and excluded funds that were not available. The Council did not include her student loans in its calculations. There is no fault in the Council’s decision-making process as it did consider whether discretion to exclude certain funds was required.
15. I appreciate that Miss X also feels her bursary should not have been included. She did not specifically mention the inclusion of the bursary in her appeal. The Council considered the information Miss X provided about this. This showed there were no controls on how the funds could be used. It therefore decided to include it as Miss X’s income. There is no fault in this decision making.

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Final decision

16. I have completed my investigation. I have not found fault in the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman