Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council will not register the complainant for another bedroom with her housing application and has not offered suitable accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council has not registered her for a two bedroom home and has not moved her to a property with no stairs.

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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))
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X. This includes the correspondence about her request for another bedroom and the allocations policy. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X has some medical conditions. She struggles with the stairs to access her one bedroom home. Mrs X is on the housing register and is registered for a one bedroom property without stairs.
6. Mrs X asked the Council to register her for a two bedroom property. She provided supporting medical evidence and explained her health conditions make it hard to share a bedroom with her husband.
7. The Council considered her points and the evidence but decided the evidence does not show she needs an extra bedroom as defined by the allocations policy. The response shows the Council considered the policy and specifically referred to Mrs X’s points about her health and the medical evidence. The Council explained why it had decided not to award an extra bedroom.
8. I appreciate Mrs X disagrees with the decision, but we are 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 the complainant disagrees with the decision.
9. Mrs X finds the stairs difficult but the Council awarded the correct number of medical points and registered Mrs X for stair-free accommodation; this reflects the correct process. The Council can only offer alternative accommodation when Mrs X makes a successful bid. We cannot ask the Council to move Mrs X outside the usual bidding process. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of social housing, it may be some time before the Council can offer Mrs X a new home.

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Final decision

10. 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