Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s decision to close her housing applications. We find that the Council failed to clearly communicate the consequences of not providing supporting documents and failed to provide clear and consistent information about the documents Miss B needed to provide. This led to the closure of her applications which caused avoidable frustration for Miss B and delayed her ability to join the housing register. The Council has agreed to clearly specify which documents Miss B needs to provide and to then assess her application, backdating her award date if she qualifies to join the register. It has also agreed to apologise to Miss B, make a symbolic payment to her, and carry out service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council closed her housing applications because it considered they were incomplete, despite her providing all the required information and supporting documents. She says that as a result of this, she remains living in unsuitable accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations

6. Every local housing authority must publish an allocation scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
7. Every application made to a local housing authority for an allocation of housing accommodation shall (if made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the authority’s allocation scheme) be considered by the authority. In considering applications, authorities must ascertain:
• if an applicant is eligible for an allocation of accommodation, and
• if he or she qualifies for an allocation of accommodation. (Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local housing authorities in England, paragraph 3.2 and Housing Act 1996, section 166(3))
8. Applicants have the right to request a review of a decision that they are ineligible for an allocation, or that they are not a qualifying person. (Housing Act 1996, section 160ZA(9) and section 166A(9))
9. Paragraph 2.2.3 of the Council’s housing allocation scheme says:

“In addition to the application, the following documents (where available) must be submitted as evidence, via the Scheme website to verify the information provided by the main applicant, plus any other person who might reside with the applicant who might wish to become a joint tenant:

1. Passport, to help determine eligibility to rent social housing in England.
2. A utility or Council Tax bill from the past three months, to help determine eligibility to rent social housing in England.
3. Birth certificate, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
4. Details of any relevant unspent convictions, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
5. All financial records from the past three months relating to income and savings, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
6. All legal records relating to property ownership to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
7. Any other information that helps to determine eligibility to rent social housing in England, qualification to join the Scheme or making a community contribution.”

Background and key events

10. Miss B lives with her parents and six siblings in a three-bedroom house. In March 2024, she applied to join the Council’s housing register. She included one sister and one brother in her application.
11. The application form listed the evidence she needed to provide with her application, such as ID, proof of address, and financial records. Miss B submitted a copy of each family member’s passport and proof of address for her brother and sister.
12. In July, the Council wrote to Miss B to tell her that it had closed her application because it was incomplete. The letter stated that in order to validate and assess her application, all documents listed on the application form had to be submitted for anyone over the age of 18 intending to move with Miss B. It advised her to reapply once she had uploaded all the required documents.
13. Miss B called the Council because she believed she had already provided all the required documents. She was informed that she had not provided three months of financial records or proof of address for all household members.
14. Miss B then provided copies of her bank statements and reapplied in August. However, in October, the Council closed her application because it considered it was also incomplete.
15. Miss B called the Council again and was told that she had still not provided three months of bank statements or proof of address.
16. In December, Miss B submitted additional bank statements, including those for her brother and sister, and she reapplied in January 2025. However, in March, the Council closed her application because it considered it to be incomplete again.

Analysis

Closure of applications

17. When the Council determines that a housing applicant has not provided all the required documents, it closes the application without offering the applicant the opportunity to provide any missing documents. This approach has caused delays for applicants because they have to reapply and wait for the Council to consider their next application.
18. When Miss B initially applied, she did not provide any financial records and only provided proof of address for her brother and sister. The Council’s website warns applicants that failure to provide the required documentation may result in the closure of their application. However, this warning is not included on the application form itself. I consider the Council failed to adequately warn Miss B of the potential consequences of not providing the required documents. This was fault. Had Miss B been properly informed, she would likely have submitted the required documents with her initial application.
19. The information the Council provides applicants about who needs to provide documentation is inconsistent. While the application form and closure letter state that documents must be submitted for each adult household member, the online application guide and the Council’s allocation scheme state that only the main applicant and any joint tenants need to provide documents. This inconsistency made it unclear whether Miss B needed to provide financial records for her brother and sister since they had not been included in her application as joint tenants.
20. The Council’s requests for financial documents were also vague and lacked clarity. The online application guidance, the allocation scheme and the application form all state that the applicant needs to provide financial records from the past three months relating to income and savings, without specifying exactly which documents the Council needs to see. The ‘Before you start’ section online provides a little more detail as it says the applicant needs to provide, “All financial records/bank statements for the three months prior to the date of application for each moving household member, for every separate account they hold”. However, it was not until Miss B’s application was closed that the Council clearly explained that it needed to see bank statements and wage slips or proof of benefit entitlement for each household member. I consider the Council failed to be specific about the documents it needed to see when Miss B completed the initial application form. This was fault.
21. Despite the further information in the Council’s July 2024 closure letter about what financial information the Council required, Miss B still did not provide the correct documents when she reapplied in August or January 2025. I consider the Council was not specific enough about exactly which documents were missing when it wrote to her and when she called asking for more information in July and October. This was fault. The Council says that it has since changed its procedures to ensure that its letters specify the documents the applicant needs to provide when reapplying. This change should help to ensure applicants provide the correct documents in future.

Review rights

22. The letters sent by the Council when closing Miss B’s applications stated that she had no right to request a review of the decision, and her only recourse would be judicial review. They also advised Miss B that she could contact our office.
23. Under the Housing Act 1996, when an application is made in accordance with a council’s housing allocation scheme, the council must determine whether the applicant is eligible and qualifies to join the register, and applicants have the right to request a review of this decision. In this case, the Council did not decide if Miss B was eligible or whether she qualified because, by not providing the required documents, her applications had not been made in accordance with the scheme. She therefore did not have a right to request a review. However, she would still have had a right to lodge a complaint with the Council about how it handled her application. I consider the Council should have told Miss B about this right before referring her to our office.

Injustice

24. The Council’s failures have caused Miss B avoidable frustration and inconvenience and have delayed her ability to join the housing register. It has been over a year since Miss B originally applied to join the Council’s housing register. If there had been no fault in this case, I consider it likely that Miss B’s application would have been assessed by 12 June 2024. I do not consider it likely that Miss B has missed out on any properties.

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Action

25. The Council says that it changed its processes in November 2024 and since then, its closure letter includes the specific information the applicant is required to provide. It says it no longer requests evidence which has already been provided.
26. The Council says it has also amended its closure letter to ensure applicants are directed to its complaints procedure, rather than to our office.
27. The Council has agreed that, within two weeks of my final decision, it will write to Miss B with details of the documents she needs to provide to enable it to validate and assess her application. The Council will not request evidence she has already submitted and will specify exactly which documents she has not yet provided (for example, Miss B’s payslips for the last three months or proof of her benefit entitlement dated in the last month, showing her name and address as the benefit recipient).
28. Within four weeks of receipt of the required documentation, the Council will assess Miss B’s application. If Miss B qualifies to join the register, it will backdate her award and registration date to 12 June 2024.
29. The Council has also agreed to take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Miss B for the failings identified in this case. The Council will consider our guidance on remedies when making the apology.
• Make a payment of £250 to Miss B. This is a symbolic payment to recognise the avoidable frustration and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
30. The Council has also agreed to take the following actions within eight weeks of my final decision:
• Review the documents required for new applicants, joint tenants and household members, ensuring that applicants are not asked to provide unnecessary evidence. It will also ensure staff training is provided so that officers are aware of the different evidence requirements for each applicant type.
• Ensure that applicants are clearly informed about which documents are required, with consistent information across the allocation scheme, website, application form and any correspondence.
• Consider amending its procedures to give applicants additional time to submit missing documents before closing their applications, to prevent unnecessary delays. If the Council continues to close applications without giving applicants an opportunity to submit any missing documents, it will amend the application form to include a clear warning about the consequences of not submitting all required evidence.
31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

32. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman