Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to change the priority date of his housing application. There is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council changed the priority date on his housing application from 2016 to 2020.
2. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision to change the priority date. He says it will now take longer to move. He wants the Council to change the priority date to 2016.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X made a housing register application in 2016 and received banding for overcrowding. In August 2020, he had a medical assessment which changed his priority band.
7. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision to change his priority date from 2016 to 2020. The Council’s published scheme says the priority date is the date of application or the date of any change in circumstances that led to a change of band. Mr X’s priority band changed when he had a medical assessment in August 2020, meaning his priority date changed as well. This is in line with the Council’s published scheme. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
8. Mr X complains that he was bypassed for an offer due to a change in his priority date.
9. In its complaint response, the Council said Mr X’s priority date should have changed to 2020 at the time of the medical assessment. However, due to a clerical error it remained unchanged until September 2024. Therefore, Mr X was in a favourable position at the time of bidding as his priority date did not change from 2016. The Council explained factors other than a priority date are taken into consideration for shortlisting. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy, but I will not investigate as any fault has not caused an injustice.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman