Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is treating Miss X unfairly when she places bids for housing as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains she is being treated unfairly when she bids for housing as she says her position in the ranked order of bids placed keeps going down despite her having been in the Band A priority category since 2023. Miss X says this is making her feel depressed.

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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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its complaint response to Miss X, the Council said it had awarded her the highest priority for housing in that she was categorised as Band A. It explained how the bidding system works but that as there were over 8500 applicants in Band A, that the wait time for housing can stretch into several years.
6. I recognise that Miss X is impacted by not being successful in securing a property, but we will not investigate as, given the information in paragraph five, it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman