Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to properly consider her circumstances when refusing her application to join the housing register. This caused her distress as she is isolated from her family and unable to return to the area where she grew up. There is no fault by the Council in refusing to add Miss X to the housing register but it should have done more to signpost her to other housing advice including to make a homeless application. A suitable remedy is agreed.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to properly consider her circumstances when refusing her application to join the housing register.
2. Miss X says she is isolated from her family and wants to return to the area where she grew up.

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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. 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

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness

6. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
7. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)

The main housing duty

8. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Southwark Council’s Housing Allocation policy

9. The Common Housing Register is a single list of applicants who have been accepted onto the scheme. Anyone can apply to join the register but there are certain groups of people who cannot join regardless of their housing need or circumstances. This is known as the persons from abroad qualifications.
10. In addition to the above, the Council has adopted a number of its own qualification rules. This includes a local connection rule which states a local connection is established if:
• You have lived in Southwark for the last five years;
• You work in the area and have a housing need;
• You want to live near to a close relating who has lived in Southwark for more than five years and receive or provide support/care;
• There is another very specific reason why you need to live in Southwark (for example severe social or medical needs).

Key facts

11. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
12. In March 2022, Miss X signed a two-year tenancy agreement for a privately rented property in Kent. This property was offered after Miss X made a homeless application to the Council. The Council says the offer of this property was made to discharged the main housing duty. Miss X says that she did not realise that by accepting a property out of borough that it would prevent her from rejoining the housing register and returning to Southwark.
13. Miss X says that in February 2023, she left the property in Kent because she did not feel safe. Miss X returned to Southwark and stayed with her mother. Miss X sent a message to the Council in September 2023. In it she said that she was not sure if she had sent it to the correct email address but that she had been staying at her mum’s since February 2023 due to a police investigation into the father of her children. She said that she no longer felt safe in the house in Kent and needed to move out as the police investigation is about her children. The Council says that it has no record of receiving this message.
14. Miss X wanted to move back to Southwark permanently. After completing an application and uploading the necessary supporting evidence, the Council wrote to Miss X on 5 December. It explained she was not eligible to join the waiting list as she did not meet the 5 years’ continuous residency criteria. The email said that she could request a review of the decision and provided details of how to do this. There is nothing to suggest Miss X requested a review.
15. Miss X complained to the Council about this decision. She provided details of all her family members who live in Southwark and the length of time they had lived there and so she argued she did have a local connection. In a complaint response dated March 2024, the Council explained that to be eligible for the housing register Miss X would need to meet one of the following:
• Engaging in paid employment in the borough and have a housing need
• Residence within the borough for the last five years
• Receiving or providing health relating supportive care for a Southwark resident.
16. It explained that by signing a 24-month tenancy agreement for a property outside the borough, she did not meet the residency criteria to join the housing register. The Council also provided details of an alternative scheme that Miss X may wish to register for called Home Hunt.

Analysis

17. Miss X grew up in the Southwark area and many of her close family members continue to live there. Miss X was previously homeless and by accepting a property in Kent in 2022 the Council discharged its housing duty towards her. There is nothing to suggest any fault in that process.
18. Miss X wanted to return to Southwark and so applied to join the housing register. The Council told Miss X that because she had not lived in Southwark continuously for five years prior to her application, she was not eligible to join. I am satisfied it notified Miss X of this decision and of how to challenge the decision.
19. I appreciate Miss X is unhappy with this decision but I find no evidence of fault in how it was reached. Miss X moved to Kent in 2022 and so cannot dispute the decision that she has not been resident in Southwark for the past five years. I appreciate Miss X previously lived in Southwark for many years and her family still live there. While she can argue she has a local connection, her circumstances do not meet the specific criteria as set out in the Council’s housing allocation policy. I find no fault in the Council’s decision not to allow Miss X to join the housing register.
20. However, in response to my enquiries the Council has accepted an oversight. It says the information Miss X provided in her complaint, including reporting safety concerns and information about how long she could remain there, should have caused officer to signpost her to further support. It says this may have led Miss X to make a homelessness application. The Council says that it cannot form an opinion on whether it was reasonable for Miss X to continue to occupy the property in Kent based on the limited information it has seen.
21. The failure of the Council to signpost Miss X to other advice and information is fault. I have considered what injustice this caused to Miss X. I cannot say that even if Miss X had made a homeless application, that it would have been successful. However, the failure to signpost Miss X has caused her uncertainty and so a suitable remedy is proposed.

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Agreed action

22. To remedy the injustice caused to Miss X the Council, within one month of my final decision, should take the following action:
• Apologise to Miss X,
• Make a symbolic payment of £200 to recognise the uncertainty caused; and
• Contact Miss X explaining how she can make a homeless application and giving details of the evidence she will be required to submit about her circumstances and determine any application submitted without further delay.
23. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman