Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s priority on the housing register and disrepair in his home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice and because we cannot investigate complaints of disrepair when the landlord is a council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, is a Council tenant and says his home has been damp for 10 years. He says the Council has not attempted to resolve the problem. Mr X says he should be in band one on the housing register because there is a category one hazard.

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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 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))

3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X rents his home from the Council. He is in band three on the housing register for overcrowding. Mr X says there is damp in the property and other examples of disrepair. The Council identified a category one hazard in 2022 due to the damp and the property is on the damp watch register.
6. I cannot investigate any issue about the damp or disrepair. The law says we cannot investigate any matter that relates to a council acting as a landlord. It is the Council, as Mr X’s landlord, which is responsible for managing the damp and disrepair; this means I have no power to investigate these issues.
7. Mr X says he should be in band one due to the category one hazard. I have considered the allocations policy which explains that band one only applies to private sector properties. For social tenancies the expectation is that the council or housing association will deal with the disrepair. The Council has carried out repairs, and continues to monitor the property, so the Council’s decision not to award band one reflects the policy. In addition, there is nothing to suggest Mr X qualifies for band two.
8. Mr X applied for medical priority. There was a long delay before the Council notified him of the decision. The Council decided not to award medical priority and told Mr X he could challenge the decision. The Council says Mr X has not asked for an appeal. I will not investigate this part of the complaint because Mr X could have used his appeal rights. And, while there was a delay, this has not caused an injustice requiring an investigation because the Council decided not to award medical priority.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice and because we have no power to investigate any issue which involves a council acting as a landlord.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman