Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing allocations because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complained the Council has failed to provide her with suitable accommodation for her and her child.
2. Ms Y says she feels she has been offered unsuitable accommodation and the property she is currently living in does not meet her child’s needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue 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))
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information Ms Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss Y initially applied to go on the housing register due to overcrowding in May 2022. Following a medical assessment in December 2022, the Council decided her case did not require a medical priority. It offered a property in August 2023, but this was later withdrawn as the property was not ready.
8. Miss Y moved into her current property in 2023. Then in January 2024 she applied to be put back on to the housing register on the basis of her home being overcrowded and not meeting her child’s housing needs due to a disability. She provided medical evidence for the Council to consider. Miss Y says the property is unsuitable because it is not adapted to meet her child's needs.
9. The Council accepted her onto the housing register and gave her a Band B (the second highest banding) due to the medical needs of her child.
10. The highest banding relating to medical needs within the Council’s allocations policy is for those where an applicant is housebound, where they have a life expectancy of 12 months or less or where their health is so severely affected by the home they are currently in that it is likely to become life threatening.
11. Miss Y was unhappy with the banding and asked for this to be reviewed. The Council reviewed the banding, having considered the evidence available to it including information Miss Y had provided and medical letters relating to her child’s health. It did not change its decision on Miss Y’s banding, but the Council did suggest that she could provide further explanation of her needs and supporting evidence to tell the Council she had had a change of circumstances for the Council to consider. Miss Y then approached us.

Analysis

12. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. As Miss Y did not approach us until June 2024, when there is nothing to suggest she was prevented from doing so and was aware of her complaint about the Council’s decision not to award her a medical priority in 2022, this part of her complaint is late without good reason to investigate it now. Consequently, we will not investigate this part of Miss Y’s complaint.
13. Miss Y is also unhappy that the Council initially offered her a property which was later withdrawn as it was not ready, which she believes would have been unsuitable and unsafe due to a presence of asbestos. Whether or not the property was safe is not a decision the Ombudsman can make, however, as the property was not ready and works were necessary before it could be returned to the housing register, it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council withdrawing the offer of accommodation, in part to allow Miss Y to consider other properties which may be available sooner. As it is unlikely we would find fault we will not investigate this complaint.
14. The Council decided Miss Y's priority band in 2024 in line with its allocations scheme. It then reviewed this decision, considering the relevant information. It is unlikely an investigation would find fault or lead to a different outcome. So we will not investigate this part of the complaint.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms Y ’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman