Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her housing register application because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council awarded band D on its housing register, when it should have been band C. She says, although this was rectified when she challenged it, this has not resolved the matter for her because a subject access response suggests the Council has not considered all relevant evidence. Ms X also says the Council has not agreed an extra bedroom for a carer to meet her overnight care needs, which means she cannot bid on suitable housing.

Back to top

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
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

What happened

5. Ms X applied to join the Council’s housing register in December 2023. After two requests from the Council to provide additional evidence, Ms X provided an Occupational Therapist (OT) housing report on 2 August 2024.
6. On 5 August 2024, the Council accepted the application and awarded band D. It is unclear whether the team had seen the OT report when it made that decision. Also on 5 August, Ms X said she needed an extra bedroom for a carer. On 8 August 2024, Ms X asked for a review and on 30 August she made a formal complaint. On 10 September 2024, Ms X again asked for an extra bedroom.
7. As part of the complaints process, Ms X provided further evidence to support her request for a second bedroom. Although the Council asked her to provide this through its housing portal, Ms X sent it to the complaints team, which meant a delay in the housing team accessing it.
8. On 8 November 2024, the Council issued a review decision. It awarded band C priority with effect from 2 August 2024, which was the date Ms X provided the OT report. It did not agree a second bedroom for a carer because it had not seen evidence Ms X needed overnight care. It said that, as previously explained, Ms X would need to provide a needs assessment and care and support plan to show her overnight care needs, following which it would reconsider her request. This advice was repeated on 15 January, but the Council says Ms X has not yet provided the evidence requested.

My assessment

9. We are not an appeal body. It is not our role to say whether the Council’s decision are correct. Unless we find fault in the decision-making process, we cannot comment on the decisions reached. The law says councils must allocate social housing in line with their published allocations scheme.
10. It is unclear whether the housing team had seen the OT report when making the original decision on 5 August, because it was only provided on 2 August (a Friday). However, the OT report was considered as part of the review and band C priority was awarded from the date the report was provided, which was appropriate, and which remedies any delay in awarding band C. It is unlikely Ms X missed out on an offer between August and November 2024 and, in any case, she is not bidding because she wants a property with two bedrooms. We will not investigate this further because it is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
11. In its review decision, the Council explained it had not agreed a second bedroom because the evidence Ms X provided did not show she needed overnight care and therefore that a bedroom for a carer was needed. It explained what further evidence she would need to provide for it to reconsider this. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it considered this to justify further investigation by us.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman