Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her housing application. She says she has waited over the Council’s published estimated waiting time for a property. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of her housing application. She says she has waited over the Council’s published estimated waiting time for a property. Ms X says she and her four children are very overcrowded in their current two-bedroom 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. (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. Ms X lives in a two-bedroom property with her four children.
6. Ms X joined the housing register in September 2019. She was awarded Band 2 priority with a three-bedroom need.
7. Ms X says the Council published that the average waiting time for those in Band 2 with a three-bedroom need was around five years. Ms X says she has been waiting for more than the Council’s published waiting time.
8. The figures Ms X refers to are estimated waiting times. This is not a guaranteed wait time. As it is an average figure, it follows that there will always be people either side of that average. The Council has explained this to Ms X in its complaint responses.
9. In addition, more people will be added to the housing register each year, and who may have a higher priority than Ms X. This in turn would mean Ms X’s priority reduces. This would inevitably impact on the length of time she would need to wait before she is successful in bidding for a property. The Council has explained that, because of these factors, it is not possible to give Ms X an exact deadline by which she will successfully bid on a larger property.
10. For the above reasons, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her housing application. She says she has waited over the Council’s published estimated waiting time for a property. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman