Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council considered Mr X’s housing priority. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that he and his family have been living in a severely overcrowded one-bedroom house since 2011. He also complains that he has been bidding unsuccessfully for 3-bedroom properties for a long time.
2. He says his housing situation is affecting the family’ health and wellbeing, and that the Council has not taken this into account.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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, or

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complains about his living conditions. He says he has been living in an overcrowded one-bedroom house with his wife and three children since 2011. He says their housing situation has affected the health and wellbeing of his family.
7. Mr X also feels that he should have now been offered a 3-bedroom property through the bidding process because he has been bidding for a long time.
8. The Council wrote to Mr X to tell him that he has been assessed as severely overcrowded and that he was granted ‘Priority Homeseeker’ status, which means that he is eligible to bid for 3-bedroom properties.
9. The Council also explained to Mr X that he does meet the threshold to qualify for the ‘Severely Overcrowded Plus An Additional Preference’ category. The Council invited Mr X to submit further medical evidence if he disagreed with their assessment.
10. In relation to the bidding process, the Council advised Mr X that he has been bidding for 3-bedroom properties since 2019. They explained how the bidding process works and made him aware of the housing shortage the Council is facing.
11. Whilst I acknowledge Mr X’s frustration with his housing situation and the bidding process, I have found no evidence of fault with how the Council applied its Housing Allocations policy in assessing Mr X’s housing needs. Where a Council has made a decision properly, we cannot question the outcome or the merits of the decision.
12. I have also found no fault with how the Council dealt with his complaint about the bidding process.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault with how the Council applied its housing allocations policy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman