London Borough of Redbridge (24 021 870)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Oct 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to allocate Ms X a property she successfully bid on. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in finding fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council had discriminated against her by failing to allocate her a property she successfully bid on.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X complained to the Council after she successfully bid on a property and the Council decided not to allocate it to her. She said the Council discriminated against her.
- The Council told Ms X an occupational therapist report cited her needs and the property she had bid on was unsuitable for her needs. The Council’s policy says that when an application is matched to a property, its suitability will be determined based on recommendations from the OT service.
- Ms X remains unhappy with the Council’s decision and wants us to find it at fault. The Ombudsman cannot investigate the merits of a Council’s decision if the evidence shows the Council has followed the correct process in making the decision. The Council has made the decision in line with its policy and provided clear reasons. There is nothing to indicate the Council acted with fault or discrimination in making this decision. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in finding fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman