Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s decision to close her housing application as incomplete. We find that the Council was wrong to close Miss B’s application because she had provided all the required information. This caused Miss B unnecessary frustration, worry and inconvenience. The Council has already apologised to Miss B. It has also agreed to make a symbolic payment to Miss B, backdate her registration date and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council closed her housing application as incomplete, without giving her the opportunity to explain why she was unable to provide a council tax bill or utility bill as proof of address. She says that despite calling the Council, she was unable to speak to anyone who could assist her, and as the Council would not review its decision to close her case, she felt she had no option but to contact our office.
2. Miss B says the Council’s failings have caused her frustration and inconvenience and have left her worried about her housing situation. She is a care leaver attending university in Birmingham and cannot afford her student accommodation.

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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. We consider whether there was fault in the way a council made its decision. If there was no fault in how the council made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. 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

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

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What I found

Housing allocations

8. 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))
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 is a care leaver who moved to Birmingham to attend university. She applied to join the Council’s housing register on 1 November 2024 because she cannot afford her current student accommodation.
11. On 4 November, 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. It did not specify which of those documents had not been provided. It advised Miss B to reapply once she had provided all the required documents.
12. The letter also stated that she had no right to a review of the decision, and if she was unhappy with the decision, recourse was by way of judicial review. It also advised Miss B that she could contact our office.

Analysis

13. The application form sets out the required supporting documents, such as proof of identity, address, and financial records. Miss B submitted a copy of her passport, a tenancy agreement as proof of her address, and two months of bank statements.
14. When the Council wrote to Miss B closing her application, it failed to specify which documents it considered were missing. Instead, it provided a general list of all required documents. This lack of clarity was fault and left Miss B uncertain about what further documentation she needed to provide.
15. When the Council completed a checklist of the documents Miss B had provided, it wrongly concluded that she had not provided proof of her identity, proof of her address or sufficient bank statements. Miss B did provide proof of her identity and proof of her address. While the Council normally requires three months of bank statements, this was not necessary in Miss B’s case because she was in receipt of student loan payments which are not paid monthly. The statements she provided were sufficient to assess her financial circumstances. The Council’s decision to close Miss B’s application as incomplete was fault.
16. Where an application has been made in accordance with the Council’s housing allocation scheme, it must establish if the applicant is eligible and qualifies to join the register, and applicants have the right to request a review of this decision. The Council wrongly determined that Miss B’s application had not been made in accordance with the scheme and so failed to establish if she qualified to join the register and did not provide her with her review rights. This was fault. It also referred Miss B to our office, rather than directing her to its own complaints procedure.
17. In response to our enquiries, the Council acknowledged that Miss B’s application should not have been closed, and it apologised to her. It has since reassessed her application and accepted her onto the housing register.
18. The Council’s failings have caused Miss B unnecessary frustration, worry and inconvenience. If there had been no fault by the Council, it is likely that she would have qualified to join the housing register by 27 December 2024, eight weeks after she applied. I do not consider it likely that she has missed out on any housing offers.

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Action

19. The Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks of my final decision:
• Backdate Miss B’s award and registration date to 27 December 2024.
• Make a payment of £100 to Miss B. This is a symbolic payment to acknowledge the avoidable frustration and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
20. The Council has also agreed to amend its procedures to ensure officers are aware that documents other than utility or council tax bills can be used as proof of address, and of the circumstances when less than three months of bank statements should be accepted. It will take this action within eight weeks of my final decision.
21. The Council has recently changed its procedures, and it no longer closes applications immediately when it considers information is missing. Instead, it contacts applicants detailing the information it needs and allowing ten days for it to be provided. I therefore do not consider any other service improvement recommendations are necessary.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

23. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Miss B. 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