Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant does not qualify to join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, disagrees with the Council’s decision that she cannot join the housing register.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the correspondence about her housing application and the allocations policy. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mrs X lives in a three bedroom house. She is approaching retirement and struggling with the stairs. She would like to retire to a two bedroom home which is suitable for her needs. She has identified a development she would like to move to. She would like to sell her home and downsize to a rented property accessed through the housing register. Mrs X does not want a mortgage, the insecurity of renting from a private landlord, or a leasehold property.
5. Mrs X applied to join the housing register; she explained she is mortgage free, provided an estimate of the value of her house and explained why she wants to move. Mrs X said she could afford to rent and provided details of her expenditure. Mrs X explained she would use some of the money from the sale to pay off debts and buy items for a new home.
6. The Council assessed the application but decided Mrs X does not qualify to join the housing register. The policy says people who own a property will not qualify unless there is a legitimate reason why the property cannot be occupied or sold to meet a housing need. The policy says the Council will consider various factors such as the value of the property and the price of alternative properties. The policy also says people will be excluded if they have sold a property which has led to a worsening of their housing need.
7. The Council considered the valuation of Mrs X’s current home and compared this with properties currently on the market; it found there are two bedroom properties Mrs X could buy that would meet Mrs X’s housing need. It also considered her income and found she has disposable income.
8. Mrs X disagrees with the decision. She says that after she has paid fees, cleared debts, and bought items for a new home, she would have less to spend than the sale price. She says she is aware of other people who have been given properties despite having homes they could sell. Mrs X also says she should be allowed an element of choice and could not buy in her area of choice without the property needing work.
9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council considered Mrs X’s application, her reasons for wanting to move and her resources should she sell her home. Based on this information, and the policy, it decided she does not qualify because she could use money from the sale to buy a property that suits her needs (a property without stairs). I appreciate this might not allow Mrs X to buy in her area of choice, or in her development of choice, but the policy refers to meeting housing need rather than choice.
10. Mrs X may have less income when she retires but the assessment of her housing need is mainly based on the release of capital from the sale, and renting would put additional strain on her income. I recognise Mrs X says she would use some of the money to clear debts but that is a matter of choice in terms of how she uses the money; it is for Mrs X to decide how to use the money and how much to use to buy a new home. And, while Mrs X says she is aware of people on the register who have properties to sell, it is unlikely she would be aware of their full circumstances, and this does not affect the way the Council assessed her application.
11. Mrs X highlighted part of the policy which says people with a retirement housing need will be placed in band four. This, however, applies to people who have qualified to join the register which does not apply to Mrs X. The Council only places people in band four if they have qualified for the register.
12. We are not an appeal body. We do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes the Council followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision. In this case I have not seen any suggestion of processing fault.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman