Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to update her housing register application to allow her to bid on three-bedroom properties since August 2022. A system error prevented Miss X bidding on three-bedroom properties between August and November 2022. That was fault but it did not cause significant injustice to Miss X. Miss X has been able to bid appropriately since November 2022 however poor communication from the Council did not make this clear. The Council has agreed to make a payment to recognise the uncertainty this caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to update her housing register application to allow her to bid on three-bedroom properties since August 2022. Despite being aware of this, the matter remains unresolved.
2. Miss X says this error and delay has meant she could only bid on two-bedroom properties since August 2022 which means she has remained in unsuitable accommodation since that date. She says this is causing distress and uncertainty.

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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. 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.
5. 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

6. I spoke to Miss X about her complaint and considered information she provided.
7. I considered information from the Council including its housing allocations policy.
8. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on this draft decision. I considered the comments I received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations

Relevant Law

9. 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))
• 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))
10. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.

The Council’s allocations policy

11. The Council has a Housing Allocations Policy which explains the rules and procedures which determine how it allocates housing properties.
12. All qualifying households are placed into one of four bands. Band one have the most urgent housing need and those in band two have a higher need than those in band three. If circumstances change applicants can apply to move up a band.
13. The relevant part of the banding scheme for this complaint is band three. Band three includes those who are living in overcrowded conditions (one bedroom short of their assessed need). A house is overcrowded if there are less rooms than a person needs for their family or household. Anyone aged 10 or over counts as one person.
14. Complainants can also request a move to a higher band on medical grounds. Applicants whose health is being affected by their current property can submit a ‘Change of Circumstances’ form. The Council will use this and other medical evidence to determine whether the applicant should be awarded a higher priority because of medical needs.
15. If the Council decided that the applicant does not need to move on medical grounds, they have 21 days to request a review of this decision.

What happened

16. Miss X lives in a two bedroomed flat with her partner and three children. In 2022, Miss X’s son turned 10 but shares a room with his younger sister.
17. The Council advised Miss X that when her son turned 10, she would be eligible to bid for three-bedroom properties.
18. Miss X complained to the Council in October 2022 because despite her son turning 10 in summer, she was unable to bid on three-bedroom properties.
19. In November 2022, Miss X received a stage one response. The Council apologised that from August 2022 to date there was a system banding error meaning she could not bid for a three-bedroom property. It said it would resolve this as a matter of urgency.
20. In April 2023, Miss X requested a stage two complaint as she said the banding error still had not been resolved.
21. Miss X received a stage two response in June 2023. The Council reiterated its stage one response and considered it had dealt with her complaint appropriately. Miss X responded to this saying that the Council were not listening to her.
22. Miss X completed a Change of Circumstances form in February 2024. In the form she referred to problems with neighbours, overcrowding and health. Miss X said she needed a ground floor flat due to medical conditions which affected her mobility. Miss X’s current property is on the first floor but there is a lift to her front door and no steps in the flat.
23. The Council sent Miss X the outcome of the assessment that month concluding her household does not meet the medical criteria for a move. The outcome letter advised that she had 21 days to request a review. There is no evidence Miss X requested a review.
24. Miss X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handing of her complaint and complained to us.
25. Miss X told us she believed the banding error was still occurring because sometimes there were three-bedroom properties to bid on but at other times there were none.

The Council’s response to our enquiries

26. The Council said Miss X’s priority was updated in August 2022 to band three with a three-bedroom need. But due to a banding error Miss X was unable to bid on three-bedroom properties until November 2022. The Council accepted this was fault however, she would not have successfully bid on three-bedroom properties as there were others with higher priority.
27. The Council has accepted there is fault in its complaint handling at stage two. It says it did not provide Miss X with all the relevant information regarding the system error and failed to properly respond to Miss X’s concerns.

My findings

Banding error

28. The evidence shows Miss X’s priority was correctly updated in August 2022 to allow her to bid on three-bedroom properties. However, the Council has accepted fault in that a system error prevented Miss X from doing so until November 2022. There is no evidence this caused Miss X an injustice, as there were others at the time with a higher priority.
29. Evidence shows Miss X has been able to bid on three-bedroom properties from November 2022. The lack of three-bedroom properties showing to Miss X is likely due to a shortage in the areas Miss X is searching.

Complaint handling

30. Miss X believes the banding error is still on-going and the Council’s complaint handling response has contributed to this. Miss X raised her concerns that the issue was still ongoing at stage two of the complaints process. The Council did not provide Miss X with any information about the banding error or an explanation for the current lack of three-bedroom properties showing on her account. As a result, Miss X thought the matter remained unresolved. The poor complaint response was fault which caused Miss X distress and uncertainty.
31. We found similar fault with the Council on a separate case. The Council agreed to provide refresher training to staff to make sure complaint responses address all the substantive concerns raised in a complaint. Therefore, a further service improvement is not required.

Moving on medical grounds

32. Miss X referred to overcrowding and problems with neighbours in the Change of Circumstances form. But the Council could not consider this as it was unrelated to medical priority.
33. There is no fault in how the Council has considered Miss X’s medical condition. It considered Miss X’s referral and concluded her household does not have a medical requirement for a move. The Council provided Miss X with a right of review which she could have used if she was unhappy with this decision.

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Agreed action

34. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Miss X and pay her £100 to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused by its poor stage two complaint response.
35. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

36. I have completed this investigation. I have found some fault and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused by the fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman