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

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision that he did not qualify for the housing register because he lives outside the borough. He says he was told in 2020/21 that he could still apply for housing even if he moved to another council area. He says his request for a review of the Council’s decision was denied.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X says he had to leave the Council’s area in 2020/21 when the Council ended its homelessness Relief duty and he was no longer able to stay in temporary accommodation. He says that he was advised he could continue to bid on vacancies in the Council’s area even though he was no longer resident.
7. In 2023 he was close to being successful in bidding on a vacancy when the Council told him that he did not qualify to be on the housing register and that he should have been removed when he left the borough. The Council’s housing allocations policy has a restriction on applicants who reside outside the borough and Mr X does not mee the qualifying criteria.
8. Mr X received a final decision on his application in December 2023 and he was advised he could request a review of it within 21 days. He did not request a review until January 2024 outside the 21-day timescale.
9. We cannot consider the original decision to end Mr X’s homelessness duty in 2020/21. It is outside the 12-month period for receiving complaints and had it not been so we would still have expected him to challenge the decision by way of the review/appeals procedure.
10. The Council offered him a review of the housing register decision and he applied outside the timescale for doing so. There is no fault in the Council’s decision as it followed the process set out in the housing allocations policy. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application 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.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman