Summary: Miss B complained that the Council kept closing her housing applications. We found that the Council failed to clearly communicate the consequences of not providing supporting documents with her initial housing application, which led to its closure. The Council then closed the next two applications Miss B made, without properly explaining why it had done so. This caused Miss B avoidable frustration and inconvenience and delayed her ability to join the housing register. The Council has agreed to assesses Miss B’s application, and if she qualifies, it backdates her award date. The Council will also apologise, make a symbolic payment to Miss B and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council keeps closing her housing applications as incomplete, without telling her what information is missing. She considers she has provided all the required documents.
2. Miss B says the Council’s actions have caused her frustration and inconvenience and have prevented her from joining the housing register.

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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. Their 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.”

Background and key events

11. Miss B lives in a privately rented three-bedroom house with her three children. She applied to join the Council’s housing register in July 2024. She says that her landlord intends to evict her and she needs to move closer to her mother, who she provides care for.
12. The application form listed the evidence she needed to provide with her application, such as ID, proof of address, and financial records. She provided ID and proof of her address but she did not include any financial records.
13. 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. It advised her to reapply once she had uploaded all the required documents.
14. Miss B then submitted bank statements and proof of her benefits and reapplied. However, in October, the Council again closed her application. It did not explain why it considered her application was incomplete.
15. Miss B reapplied in November and submitted her most recent bank statement and proof of benefit but was told in January 2025 that her application was still incomplete. She was told that she needed to provide all of her financial records for the last three months and then reapply.
16. The Council decided to reopen Miss B’s application after she complained to us. It tried to email a letter to Miss B on 22 April requesting evidence to support her need for housing, but due to a technical error, Miss B received a blank attachment. The Council then closed Miss B’s application because she had not provided the required evidence.
17. After we contacted the Council, it reopened Miss B’s application and sent the letter to her again. Miss B has since submitted the evidence and is now awaiting a decision.

Analysis

Closure of application

18. The Council closed Miss B’s applications without giving her the opportunity to submit any missing documents. While the Council’s website warns applicants that failure to provide the required documentation may result in the closure of their application, this warning is not included on the application form itself. 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 is more likely to have submitted all the required documents when she applied in July 2024.
19. Miss B submitted all the required documents when she reapplied in September. However, the Council did not consider the bank statements she provided included enough information. Miss B had provided the first page of each statement showing her balance and the total amount going in to and out of the account, but she did not provide the other pages showing the individual transactions.
20. When the Council closed Miss B’s application in October, it said that she had not provided all the required documents and it listed all the documents applicants need to provide. It did not specify that she needed to provide the other pages of her bank statements. This was fault. As a result, when Miss B reapplied in November, she again provided only the first page of her bank statements. This led to her application being closed as incomplete again.
21. 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. However, while the closure letter the Council sent in January 2025 listed the financial documents it required, it was not specific, and did not state that Miss B needed to provide the other pages of her bank statements. This was fault.

Blank attachment

22. A technical issue caused the Council to send a blank attachment to Miss B on 22 April, instead of the intended letter. Miss B reported the issue but the Council did not respond promptly, which led to her housing application being closed again. This was fault. The Council says applicants receive blank attachments when officers use an incorrect process to recreate letters. We have dealt with several other complaints about this issue but it is yet to be resolved.

Review rights

23. The letters sent by the Council when closing Miss B’s applications stated that she had no right to request a review of the decisions, and her only recourse would be judicial review. They also advised Miss B that she could contact our office.
24. 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. When the Council considered the application Miss B made in July, it did not decide if she 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. The Council should have told Miss B about this right before referring her to our office. The Council says it has since amended its closure letter to ensure applicants are now directed to its complaints procedure, rather than to our office.
25. While Miss B did not provide all pages of her bank statements when she applied in September and November, she did provide evidence of her income and savings, and so these applications were made in accordance with the scheme. The Council had a duty to decide if she was eligible and if she qualified to join the register, and to inform her of her right to request a review. It did not do so; this was fault.

Injustice

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

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Action

27. 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 £300 to Miss B. This is a symbolic payment to acknowledge the avoidable frustration and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
• Assesses Miss B’s application and if she qualifies to join the housing register, it should backdate her award and registration date to 24 September 2024.
28. Within eight weeks of this final decision, the Council will take the following actions:
• Provides further guidance to its staff about the information to provide in closure letters. It must ensure the letters specify exactly what information the applicant needs to provide. Where an applicant has provided financial records but more evidence is needed, it should not just list the financial documents applicants need to provide; it should explain why the evidence they have already provided does not meet the Council’s requirements.
• Reviews 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 the applicant has provided the documents listed in paragraph 2.2.3 of the Council’s housing allocation scheme.
• Resolves the technical issue which results in blank attachments being sent to housing applicants.
29. 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.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

31. I make a finding of fault which caused injustice. The Council agrees to take the actions I have recommended. This 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