Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about her housing register application because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not manage her housing application correctly. She said this has had a damaging effect on her and her family who are in unsecure accommodation. She would like an apology and for the Council to allow her to bid for a property.

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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
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(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 Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained the Council did not manage her housing application correctly and gave her conflicting advice about the application process.
6. In its complaint response, the Council said it accepted a homelessness prevention duty for Ms X in April 2024 after she received a Section 21 eviction notice from her landlord. It placed her on its housing register. In October 2024, the Council suspended her housing register application, because she had outstanding rental arrears. The Council stated that it provided advice to Ms X about how a consistent payment plan for rental arrears would bring her below the threshold within their housing allocations policy.
7. The Council said that in November 2024 Ms X reported she was homeless, it initially accepted a homelessness relief duty. Ms X informed the Council later that month that she had found alternative accommodation. The Council sent a letter to Ms X to tell her the homelessness relief duty had ended, the letter stated Ms X could ask for a review of the decision.
8. It was reasonable to expect Ms X to use her right of review because the Council told her about this right in its decision letter. Ms X would have then had a right of appeal to the court on a point of law, if there was an error in the Council’s review decision.
9. The Council said that it had reviewed its correspondence with Ms X regarding her housing application. It said that it could find no evidence that Ms X had been given incorrect, or misleading information about her application.
10. The Council considered Ms X’s housing register application in line with its published Housing Allocations policy which states that applicants will not be eligible to join the register if they have rent arrears more than £500.
11. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered Ms X’s housing register application to justify investigating.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman