Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a 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 that the Council has prioritised his application for housing only for one-bedroom ground floor or one/two-bedroom upstairs flats. He says he requires an additional bedroom because of his partners mental health issues and the need to exercise the family dog without stairs.

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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. Mr X applied to the Council’s housing register in 2023. The Council prioritised the application as Band 3 under its allocations policy. This allowed him to bid on one-bedroom ground floor flats houses or bungalows or one/two bedroom above ground floor flats and maisonettes. Mr X says he and his partner have medical and mental health needs and that they need a separate bedroom because of his partner’s condition. He asked the Council for a statutory review of the banding needs.
6. The Council carried out a review but informed Mr X that he did not meet the threshold under its allocations policy for an additional bedroom. His priority was increased subsequently to Band 2 because he was now threatened with homelessness within 56 days. However, it remains restricted to mainly one-bedroomed properties.
7. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
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.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a 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