Summary: Mrs 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, requested unnecessary evidence and then wrongly decided her application was incomplete, despite her submitting all the required evidence. This led to the closure of her applications which caused avoidable frustration for Mrs B and delayed her ability to join the housing register. The Council has agreed to assess Mrs B’s application and, if she qualifies to join the register, it will backdate her award date. It has also agreed to apologise to Mrs B, make a symbolic payment to her, and carry out service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs 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 she was not given the opportunity to supply additional documents and instead was told she needed to submit a fresh application.
2. Mrs B considers the Council’s actions were unreasonable, and as a result, she remains living in accommodation which is overcrowded, and which may prevent her from being able to foster her grandson.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Mrs B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mrs 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

7. 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))
8. 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))
9. 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))
10. 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.”
1. Paragraph 2.2.9 says, “The Local Authority will accept applications from current tenants of Birmingham City Council (including tenants of Registered Providers), for transfers (“Transfer Applicants”) to alternative social rented housing available in Birmingham.”
2. Paragraph 2.2.10 says, “The Local Authority will initially treat Transfer Applicants in the same way as all other applicants, except that there will be no inquiries made about eligibility. This is because the law dictates that all current tenants of social housing are eligible for a further allocation of social housing accommodation regardless of their immigration or habitual residence status.”

Background and key events

13. Mrs B lives in a two-bedroom council flat with her son, Mr X, and grandson, who she is fostering. In April 2024, she applied to join the Council’s housing register so that she could move to a larger property.
14. The application form listed the evidence she needed to provide with her application, such as ID, proof of address, and financial records. Mrs B did not submit any documents with her application.
15. In July, the Council wrote to Mrs 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 Mrs B. It advised her to reapply once she had uploaded all the required documents.
16. Mrs B then provided several documents and reapplied in August. However, in October, the Council closed her application because it considered it was also incomplete.
17. Its letter stated that she needed to submit all the documents listed on the application form. It did not specify which of those documents Mrs B had not provided.

Analysis

Closure of applications

18. 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.
19. 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 Mrs B of the potential consequences of not providing the required documents. This was fault. Had Mrs B been properly informed, she would likely have submitted the required documents with her initial application.
20. When Mrs B reapplied, she provided all the required documents for herself, but did not include Mr X’s bank statements. The Council also considered the proof of address she provided for Mr X was not in an acceptable format.
21. The Council asks applicants to provide a council tax bill or utility bill as proof of address. As Mr X did not have these documents in his name, Mrs B submitted alternative forms of proof, including his driving licence, and a certificate of pay and taxable benefit, both of which contained his address. The Council acknowledges that some household members may not have council tax or utility bills in their name and says that in such cases, it may accept other documents, such as bank statements or letters from the Department for Work and Pensions, if dated within the last three months. This information is not communicated to applicants. I consider the Council should have clearly informed applicants about the types of documentation it will accept when a household member does not have a council tax bill or utility bill in their name. Had this been made clear, Mrs B would likely have submitted Mr X’s bank statements.
22. 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 these documents only have to be provided “…by the main applicant, plus any other person who might reside with the applicant who might wish to become a joint tenant.” The Council considers the word “might” in its allocation scheme, means that it can require all household members to provide documents, because any of them “might” later decide they want to be a joint tenant.
23. Mrs B did not indicate that Mr X wanted to be a joint tenant at that time or in the future. While the Council requests documents from all household members, this is not a requirement of the housing allocation scheme. The scheme only requires these documents from the main applicant and any joint tenants.
24. The Council’s allocation scheme also does not require transfer applicants, like Mrs B, to provide evidence of their eligibility, such as proof of their address. When the Council closed Mrs B’s second application, it considered she had failed to provide proof of her address, but it has since acknowledged that Mrs B did provide a copy of her council tax bill. In any event, as an existing tenant, Mrs B should not have been required to submit such proof.
25. The Council says that it asks transfer applicants to provide evidence of eligibility because it uses a single application form for both general and transfer applicants and its system does not allow it to separate new applicants from existing tenants. It says its approach also ensures that applicants who mistakenly state they are council tenants, such as those in temporary accommodation, are not unfairly disadvantaged by having their application closed due to a failure to provide proof of eligibility. I do not consider the Council’s reasoning justifies imposing unnecessary documentation requirements on transfer applicants.
26. When the Council closed Mrs B’s second application, it did not specify exactly which documents it considered were missing, and so she was unsure what else she needed to provide. 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.
27. 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. In this case, the Council did not make this decision because it considered Mrs B’s applications had not been made in accordance with the scheme due to the missing documents. However, Mrs B’s second application did meet the scheme’s requirements. The scheme does not require transfer applicants to provide proof of eligibility, or household members to provide documents, and Mrs B submitted all other required documents. I consider the Council failed to comply with its legal duty to decide if she qualified to join the register. This was fault.

Review rights

28. The letters sent by the Council when closing Mrs 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 Mrs B that she could contact our office.
29. Under the Housing Act 1996, applicants have the right to request a review of a decision on eligibility or qualification. As Mrs B did not provide any documents with her initial application, it was not made in accordance with the scheme and so the Council did not need to decide if she qualified to join the register. While she did not have the right to request a review, 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 Mrs B about this right before referring her to our office.
30. Mrs B’s second application was made in accordance with the requirements of the Council’s allocation scheme. It therefore had a duty to decide if she qualified to join the register, and to inform her of her right to request a review of this decision. The Council did not do so; this was fault.

Injustice

31. The Council’s failures have caused Mrs B avoidable frustration and inconvenience and have delayed her ability to join the housing register. Over a year has passed since Mrs B originally applied to join the Council’s housing register. If there had been no fault in this case, I consider it likely that Mrs B’s application would have been assessed by 2 July 2024. I do not consider it likely that Mrs B has missed out on any properties.

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Action

32. 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.
33. The Council says it has also amended its closure letter to ensure applicants are directed to its complaints procedure, rather than to our office.
34. The Council has agreed to take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mrs B for the failings identified in this case. The Council will consider our guidance on remedies when making the apology.
• Make a payment of £200 to Mrs B. This is a symbolic payment to acknowledge the avoidable frustration and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
• Assess Mrs B’s application and if she qualifies to join the housing register, it will backdate her award and registration date to 2 July 2024.
35. The Council has agreed to take the following actions within eight weeks of my final decision:
• Review the documents required for new applicants, joint tenants, existing tenants and household members, ensuring that applicants are not asked to provide unnecessary evidence. It will also ensure that staff training is provided so that officers are aware of the different evidence requirements for each applicant type.
• Provide information to applicants on its website and its application form about the evidence it will accept as proof of address if they do not have a council tax bill or utility bill in their name.
• Review its procedures to ensure it assesses applications which have been made in accordance with the allocation scheme. Unless the Council changes its allocation scheme, it should not consider applications to be incomplete when a transfer applicant has not provided evidence of their eligibility or when a member of the household has not provided the documents listed in paragraph ten above.
• 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.
36. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

37. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs 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