Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to close Mr B’s housing application. We find that the Council failed to provide clear information about the documents Mr B needed to provide. This led to the closure of his housing application. The Council then failed to specify which documents he had not provided which caused avoidable frustration for Mr B and delayed his ability to join the housing register. The Council has agreed to assess Mr B’s application and if he qualifies to join the register, it will backdate his award date. The Council has also agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to Mr B and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs X is complaining on behalf of Mr B. She complains that the Council closed Mr B’s housing application as incomplete without explaining what further information it needed.
2. Mrs X considers the Council’s decision to close Mr B’s application was unreasonable, and as a result, he remains living in accommodation which is affecting his mental health.

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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 Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mrs X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a 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. Mr B lives in a privately rented flat. In November 2024, Mrs X submitted a housing application to the Council on Mr B’s behalf. He would like to move because he is experiencing anti-social behaviour in his current accommodation which is affecting his mental health.
12. The application form listed the evidence which needed to be provided with the application, such as ID, proof of address, and financial records. Mrs X submitted Mr B’s passport, a utility bill in his name and several bank statements.
13. In December, the Council wrote to Mr B to tell him that it had closed his application because it was incomplete. The letter stated that in order to validate and assess his 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 Mr B to reapply once he had provided all the required documents.

Analysis

Closure of application

14. The Council closed Mr B’s application because it considered he had not provided proof of his address, or the required financial records.
15. The application form states that a council tax bill or utility bill dated within the last three months needs to be provided as proof of address. Mrs X provided a utility bill in Mr B’s name, but it was dated more than three months before the application was submitted.
16. Mrs X provided Mr B’s bank statements, but his address could not be seen on one of the statements. She did not provide separate evidence of his income.
17. I do not consider the Council provided clear information about the financial documents it needed. The online application guidance, the allocation scheme and the application form all stated that the applicant needed to provide financial records from the past three months relating to income and savings, without specifying exactly which documents were needed. The ‘Before you start’ section online provided a little more detail as it said the applicant needed to provide, “All financial records/bank statements for the three months prior to the date of application for each moving household member, for every separate account they hold”. However, it was not until Mr B’s application was closed that the Council explained that it needed to see bank statements for the last three months showing the name and address of the account holder, as well as wage slips for the last three months, or proof of benefit entitlement dated within the last month. I consider the Council failed to provide clear information about the documents it needed to see at the time Mrs X completed the application. This was fault.
18. When the Council closed Mr B’s application, it listed all the documents applicants need to provide, without specifying which of those documents it considered to be missing. This was fault and left Mrs X unsure about what else she needed to provide.
19. The Council says that it changed its processes in November 2024 and after then, its closure letter included the specific information the applicant was required to provide. However, the closure letter in this case was sent in December 2024 and did not include the specific information Mr B needed to provide.

Review rights

20. The letter sent by the Council when closing Mr B’s application stated that he had no right to request a review of the decision, and his only recourse would be judicial review. It also advised Mr B that he could contact our office.
21. 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 Mr B’s application, it did not decide if he was eligible and whether he qualified because it considered he had failed to provide all the required documents, and so his application had not been made in accordance with the scheme. While he did not have the right to request a review, he would still have had a right to lodge a complaint with the Council about how it handled his application. I consider the Council should have told Mr B about this right before referring him to our office.
22. The Council says it has amended its letters and applicants are now directed to its complaints procedure, rather than to our office.

Injustice

23. The Council’s failures have caused Mr B avoidable frustration and have delayed his ability to join the housing register. It is around seven months since Mr B originally applied to join the Council’s housing register. If there had been no fault in this case, I consider it likely that Mr B’s application would have been assessed by 28 January 2025. I do not consider it likely that Mr B has missed out on any properties.

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Action

24. The Council has agreed to write to Mr B specifying exactly what additional documents it needs him to provide to enable it to validate and assess his application. It will do so within two weeks of my final decision. Within four weeks of receipt of the required documentation, the Council will assess Mr B’s application. If Mr B qualifies to join the register, it will backdate his award and registration date to 28 January 2025.
25. The Council has also agreed to take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr B for the failings identified in this case. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance when making the apology.
• Make a payment of £100 to Mr B. This is a symbolic payment to acknowledge the avoidable frustration and inconvenience caused by the Council’s actions.
26. Following our recommendations in similar cases, the Council has decided to change its procedures and it no longer closes applications as incomplete when the required documents have not been provided.
27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

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