Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault. We cannot investigate a complaint about the Council’s management of a tenant who Miss X says is carrying out anti-social behaviour and should not have been moved next to her. We have no jurisdiction not investigate the management of housing by social housing landlords.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to move a tenant next to her two years ago when it knew of the tenant’s background with anti-social behaviour. Shre says she has suffered form the neighbour’s behaviour since she moved in and that the Council has ignored her complaints. She wants to be compensated for the distress caused and be offered a management transfer to alternative housing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X says the Council moved a tenant into her block two years ago and that she has been subject to harassment and anti-social behaviour since then. She has made complaints to the Council but says it has not responded sufficiently and she has requested a management transfer and compensation for the failure to act. She says the Council should not have moved the tenant into her block in the first place.
7. The Council says it has served a possession notice on Miss X’s neighbour but it cannot discuss third-party tenancy matters because of data protection restrictions. It has accepted that it could have responded to her complaints earlier and has offered compensation for the delay and has accepted her for consideration for a management transfer.
8. We cannot investigate complaints about tenancy management by a social housing landlord. This jurisdiction passed to the Housing Ombudsman Service in 2013. We can consider the Council assessment of Miss X’s housing application under its allocations policy. The Council has awarded Miss X an additional 150 points on her application for harassment she is suffering. She is also awaiting a medical assessment for her family which may or may not increase her priority.
9. If the medical assessment is unsuccessful Miss X will be able to ask the Council for a review of her application under s.116A of the Housing Act 1996.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint about the Council’s management of a tenant who Miss X says is carrying out anti-social behaviour and should not have been moved next to her. We have no jurisdiction not investigate the management of housing by social housing landlords.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman