Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the banding priority awarded to his housing application. He says that his daughter has housing needs due to her autism and that he should be in Band B under the allocations policy and not Band C which has been awarded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says his housing application banding should be higher than the current Band C listing. He provided the Council with medical evidence about his daughter’s autism and how their current accommodation is unsuitable because it is a flat and it is difficult to manage exit from the building safely without a garden. He is also concerned that she may open windows which means they are unable to allow ventilation.
6. Mr X asked the Council to review the current banding priority. The Council carried out a review but it did not change the banding on medical grounds. It did change the suitability of properties to be considered to three-bedroom properties only to acknowledge the requirement that their daughter has a separate bedroom. The Council also says that when his third child is born in June 2025 they will be eligible for Band B because of overcrowding.
7. The Ombudsman is 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 someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
8. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. There is no evidence to suggest that the Council failed to consider Mr X’s request for a higher banding.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman