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 the Council failed to update their priority on its housing register to reflect overcrowding in their property, due to household changes. She also complained the Council had not acknowledged their living conditions were unsafe, nor had it properly considered her mobility needs. Ms X said this meant the family remained in unsuitable housing that was overcrowded.

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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.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

7. Ms X complained the Council had failed to update her housing register application over 14 years, failed to properly consider her medical needs and had not considered safety issues in her property.
8. The Council told us one of Ms X’s children turned 18 in January 2025. This meant the household was lacking two bedrooms and the priority band awarded was changed from C to B. Ms X was unhappy with that decision. The Council carried out a home visit in February 2025.
9. Its panel carried out a review of the application in March 2025 and wrote to Ms X with its decision. It confirmed it had considered the report of the home visit, a lift breakdown report and all the evidence it had. It recognised the difficulties with the current housing, explained its reasons for deciding the application did not meet the criteria for band A and suggested some ways the sleeping arrangements could be changed whilst the family were waiting to be rehoused. It also explained very few houses of the size the family needed came available.

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 March 2025 about events over a 14 year period. I have seen no evidence she could not have complained earlier.
11. The onus is on housing register applicants to keep the Council updated about changes to their household. This is usually done by completing a change of circumstances request, following which the Council will review the application and issue a decision. Such decisions carry an internal right of review, and it is reasonable for applicants to exercise their review rights before complaining to us.
12. In the circumstances, there are no good reasons for us to consider the period prior to March 2024, a year before Ms X complained to us.
13. In that period, the Council increased the priority to band B, which was upheld after an internal review.
14. We are not a review body. It is not our role to say whether the Council’s decision was correct. Unless there was fault in the decision-making process, we cannot comment on the decision reached. The law says councils must allocate social housing in line with their published scheme.
15. In this case, the Council considered relevant evidence, including its allocations scheme. It explained the reasons for deciding the application did not meet the criteria for band A. There was no undue delay in carrying out the review. On that basis, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement, so we will not consider the complaint further.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman