Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her applications to the housing register since 2022. There was no fault in the Council’s handling of Miss X’s housing register application in 2022. The Council was at fault for the way in which it processed Miss X’s 2023 housing register application and its poor communication with her about this. The Council has agreed to apologise and take appropriate steps to reinstate Miss X’s place on the housing register.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her applications to the housing register since 2022. She says the Council unfairly removed her from the housing register, when it failed to inform her she had been added to the register in the first place. The Council has failed to properly deal with her concerns about overcrowding, pests, trees and anti-social behaviour. The Council has also refused to accept her latest housing register application but has not properly explained the reasons for its decision. Miss X and her children remain in overcrowded conditions, which causes significant distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have exercised discretion to investigate the Council’s handling of Miss X’s 2022 housing register application. This is because Miss X says she was unaware of the Council’s decision until she complained about the matter in August 2023.
6. I have not investigated Miss X’s concerns about pests, disrepair and a tree outside her accommodation. This is because these matters fall under the remit of the Housing Ombudsman to investigate.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have spoken to Miss X and considered the information she has provided in support of her concerns.
8. I have considered the information the Council has provided in response to my enquiries.
9. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations

10. 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))
11. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:

• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

12. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:

• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.

13. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
14. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.

Anti-social behaviour

15. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 defines anti-social behaviour as:

• conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person;
• conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises; or
• conduct capable of causing housing related nuisance or annoyance to any person.

16. Some examples of anti-social behaviour include:

• noisy, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours; and
• street-level drug dealing or drug use.

17. Councils and other agencies such as the Police have some responsibility for investigating and preventing anti-social behaviour. In some cases, councils may work with other agencies such as the Police, where an immediate response is required. Joint-working and information sharing between the agencies is an effective response to anti-social behaviour.
18. There is no formal process chart for an anti-social behaviour investigation. Councils should handle each case according to its merits and considering the severity of the alleged behaviour, whether it is frequent or ongoing and the potential harm to the victims. However, we expect a good investigation considers:

• if it is genuinely anti-social behaviour;
• the risk it represents to the complainant and if there is significant threat or harm. In some cases, we would expect to see the council has completed a formal risk assessment;
• the alleged perpetrator and if they have other records of anti-social behaviour involving them; and
• information from other agencies involved such as what reports they have received and any action they have taken in response.

What happened

19. Miss X and her children have been living in a two-bedroomed social housing property since 2001. Miss X has three children, her eldest adult child has left the family home due to overcrowding. Miss X’s remaining children are under the age of 18 and of different genders.
20. In early 2022, Miss X applied to join the Council’s housing register. She included details about her two children. Miss X explained her family was overcrowded and the property unsuitable because of pests, a tree and drugtaking close-by.
21. The Council processed Miss X’s housing application and added her to its housing register in early March 2022. Miss X was entitled to bid for three-bedroom properties due to being overcrowded in her current property.
22. In October 2022, the Council cancelled Miss X’s entry on the housing register as she had not placed any bids for properties through its choice based letting scheme.
23. Miss X applied to rejoin the Council’s housing register in August 2023. On this occasion, Miss X stated her mental health was being negatively affected by her current housing. Miss X provided the Council with further information about her health conditions. She also stated her family remained in overcrowded conditions. The Council logged Miss X’s concerns about her accommodation as a stage one complaint.
24. On 6 September 2023, the Council wrote to refuse Miss X’s housing register application. It explained it considered Miss X suitably housed and ineligible to join the housing register.
25. The Council responded to Miss X’s stage one complaint on 11 September 2023. It explained it had declined her housing register application because it needed further evidence from her to process the application. The Council also explained it had cancelled Miss X’s 2022 housing registration because she had not made any bids on properties for six months.
26. Miss X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two the day after the Council’s response. She explained she had not been informed she could bid for properties as the Council had advised her it needed further evidence to process her application.
27. The Council responded to Miss X a week later to explain it would not be investigating her complaint under stage two of its process. Miss X escalated her complaints to us and the Housing Ombudsman following the Council’s advice.

Analysis

28. The Council has provided me with a copy of its letter dated 2 March 2022 to Miss X, in which it confirms her addition to the housing register. The letter explained the Council needed further evidence about Miss X’s children but ask for this when she made a successful bid for a property on the housing register.
29. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
30. Miss X says the Council did not tell her it had added her to the housing register in 2022 and I do not disbelieve her. While I cannot establish exactly what happened, the Council did create and issue a letter confirming Miss X’s entry on its housing register. I consider on a balance of probabilities the Council sent this letter to Miss X in March 2022 in good faith she would receive it. There is no evidence of fault for this part of Miss X’s complaint.
31. In response to my enquiries, the Council has explained it refused Miss X’s 2023 housing application because she only listed herself in the household. The Council decided Miss X was not overcrowded and not eligible to join the housing register on any other grounds.
32. The Council has provided a copy of Miss X’s 2023 housing application. This only lists Miss X as a householder. However, the rest of the application says three people live in the accommodation and Miss X’s family remains in overcrowded conditions.
33. The Council’s letter to Miss X declining her 2023 housing register application failed to include the explanation the Council has since provided to me. This is fault as the Council’s letter to Miss X lacks sufficient clarity about the reasons for its refusal. The Council’s response to Miss X’s stage one complaint gave a different explanation for declining her application, which further adds a lack of clarity.
34. The Council has caused further confusion when it invited Miss X to escalate her complaint about its service to stage two and then declined to investigate or respond to her concerns. The lack of clear communication from the Council to Miss X in 2023 has caused confusion and frustration.
35. The Council has offered to reinstate Miss X’s entry on the housing register from the point of her most recent housing application in August 2023 in recognition of the faults in its handling. I welcome the Council’s offer. I consider this action, with an effective apology to Miss X suitably remedies the injustice caused to her and her family by the fault.
36. Miss X also complained to us about the Council’s handling of her concerns about antisocial behaviour. The Council has provided evidence it advised Miss X to report incidents of antisocial behaviour to the relevant Council team and has since received no further reports. Without reports from Miss X, I cannot find fault with the Council’s handling for this part of Miss X’s complaint.

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Agreed action

37. Within two weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to contact Miss X to explain what evidence it needs to complete processing of her housing application. The Council will ensure Miss X is reinstated to the housing register from the date of her original application on 20 August 2023 within two weeks of receiving the required information from Miss X.
38. Within one month of my final decision the Council has agreed to make a written apology to Miss X for the lack of clarity in its communication about her 2023 housing register application. The apology should be in line with our Guidance on Remedies, which sets out our expectations of council when it comes to delivering meaningful apologies.
39. Within three months of my final decision, the Council agrees to issue a reminder to all relevant staff within its Housing Team to ensure they clearly explain the reasons for the decisions made about housing register applications so applicants can challenge these decisions if necessary.
40. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

41. I have completed my investigation and found fault with the Council. This fault has caused Miss X and her family injustice. The Council has agreed to take the recommended action to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman