Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful application to join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council rejected her housing application even though she provided all the supporting evidence.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes Ms X’s housing application and supporting evidence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Ms X applied to join the housing register and submitted supporting evidence. The Council closed the application because it decided she had not provided all the information it had asked for. It wrote to Ms X to close the application and said she needed to provide bank statements, for all her accounts, for the past three months.
5. Ms X provided bank statements for one account. The Council did not re-open the application because the statements show money being transferred in from another account and Ms X had not provided statements for the other account(s).
6. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient of fault by the Council. The Council asked Ms X to provide copies of bank statements for all her accounts. I considered the statements Ms X submitted and they show money being transferred in from another account. On this basis, I have not seen any suggestion of fault in the Council’s decision that Ms X has not provided all the financial evidence and, due to this, could not re-open the application. The Council will re-consider the application if Ms X provides evidence relating to all her accounts.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman