Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision that he was ineligible for the housing register. He submitted a review request but the review was unsuccessful and upheld the original decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X applied to the Council’s housing register for social housing because he says his current private rented accommodation is too small for his family. He applied on the grounds of overcrowding and low income. He also asked the Council to assess his family’s medical needs.
6. The Council told Mr X that he did not qualify for the housing register because his income exceeded the £30,000 limit for applicants for the Band 3 circumstances he applied under. He was ineligible to apply under other circumstances because he was only short of one bedroom. Mr X asked the Council to review its decision.
7. The Council reviewed Mr X’s application but did not change its view that he was ineligible. Mr X said that the income limit had been raised to £50,000 but this only applies to applicants who fall into Band 2 or 1 priority. The Council did not consider that Mr X’s medical reasons for requesting rehousing met the threshold for medical priority.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation 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 the organisation made.
9. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Mr X’s application was incorrectly assessed.

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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 which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman