Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action to move a tenant from neighbours who have been causing neighbour nuisance for ten years. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the management of social housing.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to move him from neighbours who have been causing nuisance and anti-social behaviour since 2014. He says the Council should give him a management transfer which he is listed for so that he can have a tenancy without disturbance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says he has bene complaining to his council landlord since 2014 about the behaviour of his neighbour. The Council has interviewed him and the neighbour but it has not taken action against the neighbour’s tenancy. In 2023 the Council accepted that he was an urgent case to move and placed him on a management transfer list with maximum points. It moved him into temporary accommodation but did not evict his neighbour.
6. In January 2004 Mr X returned to his home but has not been made any offer of a management transfer to date.
7. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by council landlords. the Council referred Mr X to the Housing Ombudsman service in February 2024 and this is the body which is best placed to deal with these matters.
8. We can consider complaints about housing allocations under an allocation scheme managed under the provisions of the Housing Act 1996 part 6. However, Mr X is waiting for a discretionary transfer by housing management and this falls outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action to move a tenant from neighbours who have been causing neighbour nuisance for ten years. We have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the management of social housing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman