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. Mr X complained about the Council’s assessment of his housing application. He says he asked for medical priority because of his health situation after a previous unsuccessful request. The Council’s latest review did not award him any additional priority.

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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’s responses. 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. Mr X says he is living in a property which is unsuitable for his needs because he is disabled and has mobility problems. He also says the property lacks central heating and a tenant in an upstairs flat often throws water from above causing him worry.
6. He submitted a medical review form in 2024 and the Council decided he did not meet the threshold because his current home was suitable for his needs. The Council issued the review response to the address on his housing application but Mr X appears to have moved some time in 2023. The Council became aware of this when he made a formal complaint in 2025 and advised him that he had not given any change of circumstances to the Council about moving.
7. The Council’s housing allocations policy says that applicants must inform the Council immediately of any change in circumstances and how to make any changes to an existing housing application online. Usually when someone moves they may need to complete a new application as the assessment is based on the property and how it affects the applicant’s housing situation. This means that Mr X will need to make these changes before he can ask for any new medical assessment for his current address.
8. 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.
9. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application or 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.

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Final decision

10. 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