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 refusing to accept his application to the Council’s housing register. He says it has decided he is ineligible due to the residence status of his address. He disputes this and says he has lived in the borough for 30 years.

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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. 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 housing register because he says his current home is overcrowded since he got married and his wife moved in. The Council rejected his application because there is a requirement in its allocations policy for applicants to have resided for the past 5 years in the borough.
6. Mr X asked for a review of the decision but this was unsuccessful. Although he meets the residence qualification, the Council says that his wife does not and the application is a joint application for which both parties must be eligible.
7. 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.

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Final decision

8. 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