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 she got inconsistent advice and information from the Council and her social housing landlord about being rehoused, including being promised she would be awarded band 2 on the Council’s housing register, which was later refused. She says that, as a result of the Council’s failure to rehouse her, she and her family have suffered significant mental health issues.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
4. 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.

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

5. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as registered social landlords. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

8. Ms X has been on the Council’s housing register since 2021. She later moved to a relative’s house after being told by her social landlord that she could not transfer to another of its properties. This led to a reassessment of her housing register application in June 2023 when band 4 was awarded because she was short of one bedroom. In October 2023, she briefly pursued a homelessness application and was awarded band 2, but this was reduced to band 3 after she decided not to pursue the homelessness route. This award of band 3 was based on being short of one bedroom and another agency being involved due to a child being sexually assaulted by someone living close to the family’s address.
9. In October 2024, Ms X gained access to all three bedrooms at the property and her priority band was reduced to band 4 because she was no longer short of a bedroom. As part of the complaints process, she provided further information about her situation, including that she was living at the property without a tenancy agreement, and the Council increased her priority band back to band 3, which it backdated to October 2023. In her complaint to us, in February 2025, Ms X said the owner of her current property now wants to sell it.

My assessment

10. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Ms X complained to us in February 2025 about events from June 2023. There is no evidence Ms X could not have complained to us earlier about the period before February 2024 and there are no good reasons to consider investigating the earlier period.
11. We are not an appeal body. It is not our role to say whether the Council’s decisions were correct. Unless there was 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.
12. In October 2024, the Council reviewed the housing application after a change of circumstances. It awarded band 4 because Ms X now had only one housing need. It reviewed this in light of further information Ms X provided as part of her complaint and awarded band 3, based on two housing needs. It explained its reasons for awarding band 3 and its reasons for deciding Ms X was not eligible for band 2. We will not investigate these decisions further because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it made those decisions to justify this.
13. Ms X was briefly eligible for band 2 because she was pursuing a homelessness application. In its stage 2 complaint response the Council urged Ms X to consider that again, which was appropriate advice for it to have given in light of the sexual assault because she may be legally homeless on the basis it is not reasonable for her to continue to occupy the property. If the Council accepts a homelessness duty, it is likely she will again be eligible for band 2 priority on its housing register.
14. We cannot investigate complaints about the advice or information given by a housing association as they are not in our remit.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is partly late and because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman