Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not moved the complainant to a larger home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. We cannot investigate the complaint of disrepair because we have no power to investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, wants the Council to move her to larger home. She is living in overcrowded conditions in a property with disrepair.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X lives in a Council property. She needs another bedroom and says there is mould, damp and asbestos. Ms X joined the housing register in 2020. She is in band B.
6. Ms X complained to the Council. She asked the Council to move her because she is living with disrepair and in overcrowded conditions.
7. The Council said Ms X is in the correct band because she needs an extra bedroom and has been living the borough for 10 years. It said that since she joined the housing register she had only applied for two properties; it encouraged her to bid for properties as often as possible. It said there are many families who need to move and the Council must follow the allocations policy.
8. The Council said its legal team were involved because Ms X had not given access to allow repairs to be completed. The Council asked Ms X to cooperate with access so the repairs can be addressed.
9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I have checked the allocations policy and band B is the correct band for Ms X’s circumstances. It is also correct that the Council must allocate properties in accordance with the policy and Ms X has little chance of moving if she does not bid. I appreciate Ms X needs a larger home; however, we are not an appeal body and we cannot ask a council to move someone outside the bidding process.
10. The Council would only award priority for disrepair if the applicant was living with a category one hazard that could not be rectified. This does not apply because the Council is trying to do repairs and it has not been established that the disrepair cannot be resolved.
11. I cannot investigate any complaint about the handling of the disrepair because we have no power to investigate a complaint about issues connected to the Council’s role as a landlord.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because we have no power to investigate a council when it is acting as a landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman