Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s housing register. The Council has accepted there was fault in its communication with the complainant and offered an appropriate remedy. It would not be proportionate for us to investigate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about how the Council managed her housing register application. She said she had lived in temporary accommodation for 12 years and during that time the Council had not communicated with her about her application. She said she had lost her wait time on the housing register in 2024, after she made a homelessness application.
2. Miss X said the Council’s lack of communication had resulted in her not recognising she had an opportunity to bid on properties on the housing register. She believes this may have resulted in her missing out on a successful bid. Miss X wants the Council to provide her suitable housing.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered 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 joined the Council’s housing register in 2012. She was initially awarded band B priority following a nomination by children’s social care. In 2018, children’s social care withdrew that nomination. Mrs X lost her priority banding. The Council did not tell Miss X this. It apologised for this in its complaint response.
7. Miss X’s landlord get her notice on her temporary accommodation in 2024. She approached the Council for homelessness support. The Council accepted it owed Miss X the relief duty and placed her in interim accommodation. It has since accepted the main housing duty and increased her housing register banding to band two. That is in line with the Council’s allocations policy.
8. If we were to investigate Miss X’s complaint, it is likely we would find fault in how the Council communicated changes in her housing application with her. That has caused Miss X avoidable uncertainty as to whether she could have secured a social housing sooner. There was also a short delay in the Council accepting the main housing duty.
9. To its credit, the Council has agreed to pay Miss X £600 to remedy any injustice caused and apologise. That is in line with our guidance in remedies therefore it would not be proportionate to investigate this complaint further.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has offered a remedy in line with our guidance. It would not be proportionate for us to investigate further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman