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 decision to award his housing application Band D. he asked for a review but the banding has remained unchanged. He believes his application should have a higher priority.

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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 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 for a transfer to a bigger home because he says his current two-bedroom social rented home is overcrowded. There are also members of the family with medical conditions which he says requires an extra bedroom.
6. The Council placed his application in Band D priority which reflects his need for an additional bedroom. Mr X says he should have a higher banding and asked the Council to carry out a statutory review. The Council reviewed his case but did not award higher priority. It told him that medical needs for an additional bedroom and also overcrowding due to the ages of his children duplicated the need for an additional bedroom. Only one of the reasons applies for priority under the Council’s allocation scheme. The banding system is based on housing need and his identified need is for one additional bedroom.
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.
9. The Council carried out a fair review of the application and I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Mr X should be placed in a higher banding.

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Final decision

10. 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