Summary: Mr B complained about the Council closing his housing application. We find that the Council failed to provide clear information about the documents he needed to submit to support his application and then closed it as incomplete without specifying why it could not accept the documents he had provided. Mr B has since joined the housing register. The Council remedied Mr B’s injustice by backdating his housing priority. There is no significant unremedied injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained that the Council closed his housing application as incomplete, without telling him what information was missing. He says this delayed his ability to join the housing register.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Mr B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mr B and the Council have had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations

6. Every local housing authority must publish an allocation scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
7. Every application made to a local housing authority for an allocation of housing accommodation shall (if made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the authority’s allocation scheme) be considered by the authority. In considering applications, authorities must ascertain:
• if an applicant is eligible for an allocation of accommodation, and
• if he or she qualifies for an allocation of accommodation. (Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local housing authorities in England, paragraph 3.2 and Housing Act 1996, section 166(3))
8. Applicants have the right to request a review of a decision that they are ineligible for an allocation, or that they are not a qualifying person. (Housing Act 1996, section 160ZA(9) and section 166A(9))
9. Paragraph 2.2.3 of the Council’s housing allocation scheme says:

“In addition to the application, the following documents (where available) must be submitted as evidence, via the Scheme website to verify the information provided by the main applicant, plus any other person who might reside with the applicant who might wish to become a joint tenant:

1. Passport, to help determine eligibility to rent social housing in England.
2. A utility or Council Tax bill from the past three months, to help determine eligibility to rent social housing in England.
3. Birth certificate, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
4. Details of any relevant unspent convictions, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
5. All financial records from the past three months relating to income and savings, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
6. All legal records relating to property ownership to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.
7. Any other information that helps to determine eligibility to rent social housing in England, qualification to join the Scheme or making a community contribution.”
1. The scheme places applicants in a priority band from Band A (highest priority) to Band D (lowest priority). Band B includes applicants who need to move on medical grounds.

Key events

11. Mr B lives in a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). An HMO is a property rented to at least three people from more than one household who share facilities like a bathroom, kitchen, or toilet.
12. Mr B applied to join the Council’s housing register in February 2025.
13. The application form outlined the required supporting documents, such as proof of identity, address, and financial records. Mr B submitted various documents to support his application.
14. In April 2025, the Council wrote to Mr B to tell him that it had closed his application because it was incomplete. The letter stated that in order to validate and assess his application, he needed to provide financial records for the last three months, and a council tax or utility bill as proof of his address. It advised Mr B to reapply once he had provided all the required documents. The letter also stated that Mr B had no right to request a review of the decision to close his application and it referred him to our office.
15. Mr B considered he had already provided financial records for the last three months, and he was unable to provide a council tax or utility bill because he lived in an HMO. As Mr B had no right to request a review of the Council’s decision, he complained to our office.
16. Mr B has since submitted another housing application. The Council assessed Mr B’s application in May 2025 and decided to award Band B on medical grounds. It backdated the award to 24 April 2025.

Analysis

17. The Council accepts that, before June 2025, it was not adequately warning applicants that their application would be closed if they did not provide all the required documents. It also accepts that it was not providing clear information to applicants about the financial documents it required, or which documents it would accept as proof of address when the applicant was unable to provide a utility bill or council tax bill. For some time, the Council was not providing applicants with clear information about the reason it had decided their application was incomplete, leaving them uncertain about what further evidence they needed to provide.
18. In June 2025, the Council changed its procedures and it no longer closes applications as incomplete when the required documents have not been provided. Instead, it writes to applicants specifying which documents are missing and asking for them to be provided within ten days.
19. In this case, the Council closed Mr B’s application because it considered he had not provided the required financial records or proof of address. Mr B had provided three months of bank statements and evidence of the benefits he received, which appears to meet the Council’s requirements. He was unable to provide a council tax or utility bill as proof of his address because he lived in an HMO.
20. The Council’s decision letter failed to explain why the financial records Mr B had provided did not meet its requirements. It knew that Mr B was living in an HMO and so it should have accepted the other documents he provided as proof of his address.
21. While I consider there was fault by the Council, I consider it remedied Mr B’s injustice by backdating his housing priority. I do not consider there is any significant unremedied injustice.

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Decision

22. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mr B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has already taken is sufficient to remedy Mr B’s injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman