Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s decisions to close her housing applications. The Council failed to specify which documents she had not provided with her applications which caused avoidable frustration for Miss B. The Council also failed to make enquiries when Miss B was threatened with homelessness. This resulted in her not receiving the housing support she needed, which caused her unnecessary distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to Miss B and take steps to improve its processes.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council closed her housing applications as incomplete, despite her providing all the required documents. She says that the Council did not explain which documents it considered to be missing, leaving her unsure of what else she needed to provide.
2. Miss B had been served an eviction notice and was worried that she would become homeless. She considers the Council’s actions added to her distress.

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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 Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft decision. All comments were considered before making this 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.”

Homelessness

11. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make enquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make enquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)

Background and key events

12. Miss B moved into a one-bedroom housing association flat in 2020. In 2024, the housing association issued an eviction notice because her lease had expired and the flat had been adapted for someone with mobility difficulties, which Miss B did not have.
13. Miss B applied to join the Council’s housing register in July 2024. The application form listed the evidence she needed to provide with her application, such as ID, proof of address, and financial records. She did not provide all the required documents.
14. In September, 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, she needed to submit all the documents listed on the application form, which included ID, proof of address, and financial records. It advised her to reapply once she had uploaded all the required documents.
15. Miss B submitted additional documents and reapplied, but in October, the Council again decided that her application was incomplete. It did not specify which documents she had not provided.
16. Miss B submitted further documents and reapplied. In December, the Council assessed Miss B’s application and decided that she did not qualify to join the register.
17. In November, Miss B moved to a one-bedroom house which had been offered to her by the housing association.

Analysis

Closure of applications

18. When the Council determined that Miss B had not provided all the required documents, it closed her applications without offering her the opportunity to provide any missing documents.
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 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.
20. When the Council closed Miss B’s applications, it did not specify which documents it considered were missing, and so she was unsure what else she needed to provide. 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.

Threatened with homelessness

21. Miss B submitted documents with her application which showed that she had been served an eviction notice. Under section 184 of the Housing Act 1996, councils must make enquiries if they have reason to believe that a person requesting assistance with housing may be threatened with homelessness, regardless of whether they have made a formal homelessness application. The Council did not do so; this was fault. It only contacted Miss B to carry out an assessment after we asked about Miss B’s homelessness status in January 2025.

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, where an application has been made in accordance with the Council’s housing allocation scheme, councils must establish if the applicant is eligible and qualifies to join the register. When the Council considered Miss B’s first two applications, it did not decide if Miss B was eligible and whether she qualified because it considered she had failed to provide all the required documents, and so her application had not been made in accordance with the scheme. 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 applications. I consider the Council should have told Miss B about this right before referring her to our office.
24. When the Council told Miss B in December that she did not qualify to join its housing register, it correctly informed Miss B of her right to request a review of its decision.

Injustice

25. The Council’s failures caused Miss B avoidable frustration, uncertainty and distress. If there had been no fault in this case, I consider Miss B would have received advice and information about her housing options when she was threatened with homelessness.

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Action

26. Within four weeks of this final decision, the Council will take the following actions:
• Apologise to Miss B for the failings identified in this case. The Council should consider our guidance on remedies when making the apology.
• Make a payment of £150 to Miss B. This is a symbolic payment to acknowledge the avoidable distress and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
27. Within eight weeks of my final decision, the Council will remind relevant staff that it must make enquiries when someone contacts it seeking accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the Council.
28. 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.
29. The Council says it has also amended its closure letter to ensure applicants are directed to its complaints procedure, rather than to our office.
30. Following our recommendations in similar cases, the Council has agreed to:
• Consider amending its procedures to give applicants additional time to submit missing documents before closing their applications, to prevent unnecessary delays. If the Council decides to continue closing 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.
• Ensure applicants are clearly informed about which documents are required, with consistent information across the allocation scheme, website, application form and any correspondence.
31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

32. I find the Council was at fault which caused injustice. The Council has agreed to take actions. These will be sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman