Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s assessment of her housing application. She is a social housing tenant and says that she is living in overcrowded circumstances. A leak from the flat above has caused dampness in her home which she says has caused her mental anxiety and affected her health. She wants the Council to move her application banding from Band 2 to Band 1 or to give her a direct management transfer.

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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)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X says her home is overcrowded and she has been on the housing register in Band 2 for a transfer to a larger home since 2017. More recently a water leak from the flat above has cause dampness and mould in her home. She says this has affected her mental health and she has provided medical information in support of her request for medical priority.
7. The Council says her current banding of Band 2 is appropriate for her situation and that she does not meet the medical threshold for Band 1 which requires a critical need or being housebound. It says the repair problem with the water leak can be resolved and when it is repaired her home should revert to the same state of repair as it was prior to the leak. It says that if for some reason the repairs cannot be effectively completed, she will be reconsidered for a management transfer which is a discretionary tenancy management decision.
8. The Council says she is currently ineligible for a statutory review of her application because she has an outstanding medical assessment in progress. When this is decided she will be able to ask for a statutory review of the decision if she remains dissatisfied with the outcome.
9. We cannot consider the disrepair in Miss X’s home or consideration for a management transfer because we have no jurisdiction to investigate tenancy management by social housing landlords.
10. We may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published allocations scheme policy. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s 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