Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about delay and poor communication by the Council. This is because the Council has apologised about its communication and any injustice to Miss X is not significant enough to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained she has had poor service from the Council when applying for social housing. She complained about significant delay in the Councils response and the time taken to process her application. Miss X said she could have missed an opportunity to bid for housing. She said this has caused additional stress at a time when her and her child are living in severely overcrowded housing.

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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X applied to the housing register in October 2023. There was a four month delay by the Council in processing her application. We usually expect councils to process applications in about eight weeks. The Council backdated Miss X application to eight weeks after she first applied, which means she has not suffered an injustice as a result of the delay.
6. Miss X updated her application in July 2024 to reflect a change in her circumstances. There was a three month delay in processing this change. However, the Council backdated the application to the date when her circumstances changed.
7. At this point, Miss X felt her banding was incorrect. However, the Council advised Miss X of her right to request a review of this decision. The Council also asked Miss X to provide additional documentation to prove her continuous residence.
8. Miss X added documents to her account in November 2024. The Council did not process this information for three months, it then requested further information.
9. In May 2025 the Council wrote to Miss X with her amended Banding. The Council advised her of her right to request a review of this decision.
10. Miss X complained to the Council about poor communication. The Council has apologised. It has emphasised to its staff the importance of good communication.
11. Miss X said the delay in processing her application may mean she missed a property offer. However, it appears Miss X has been in the correct band throughout with the correct priority date. Where there has been delay, the Council have backdated her priority date. It is unlikely she will have missed out on an offer because she is not in the highest band and waiting times for social housing in London are very long. There is not sufficient evidence of injustice to Miss X to justify further investigation

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman