Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which has caused any significant injustice to the complainant. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of tenancies and property by social housing landlords.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to keep her informed about her housing application priority. She also complained about the poor maintenance of the lifts in the building where she has limited access due to her disability. She wants the Council to provide her with a personal emergency evacuation plan because she is concerned about access in an emergency.

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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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X says the Council has failed to rehouse her from her current home which is unsuitable for her disabled needs. She is also concerned that the lifts in her building break down frequently and the Council has failed to provide her with a suitable plan for evacuating the building in an emergency.
7. We cannot investigate the complaints about maintenance of the lifts or the provision of an evacuation plan because the Council is Miss X’s landlord and we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about social housing landlords. The Council has advised Miss X to complain to the Housing Ombudsman service about these issues.
8. The Council accepted that it failed to notify Miss X about a change in her housing banding following a medical assessment. However, she has been placed on a list for a direct offer of adapted properties and she has not missed any opportunity to bid on vacancies because any offer would be made directly to her by the Council rather than using the bidding process. The Council says that it may be some time before Miss X receives an offer due to high demand and relatively few adapted properties becoming vacant.
9. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
10. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which has caused any significant injustice to the complainant. We cannot investigate complaints about the management of tenancies and property by social housing landlords.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman