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

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to offer her more suitable housing. She says she is overcrowded and that her social rented flat is in a poor location in the block, near bin storage and lacking in natural light. She wants to be relocated to a larger property with a better situation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X says her current social housing home is too small for her family and that she has to share limited space with her sons. She has applied for a housing transfer and is in Band B priority for overcrowding. She says the location of her flat within the block is near bin storage and lacks adequate natural light. She says the poor location of her flat means it is unlikely that she would be able to obtain a mutual exchange.
6. Miss X complained to the Council about her situation and it reviewed her application. However, she is considered to be in the correct banding for her needs which are for a 2-bedroom property. She has no medical priority and does not qualify for a reciprocal exchange with another authority. The Council advised Miss X to seek a mutual exchange but she does not believe there is any chance of success due to the location of her home.
7. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
8. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority 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. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Miss X should be placed in a higher banding.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of 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