Summary: Mrs D complains about a housing association withdrawing a housing offer. I have ended the investigation because the actions of the housing association are outside of our remit, and we cannot achieve the outcome sought by Mrs D.

The complaint

1. The complainant (whom I call Mrs D) complains a housing association withdrew the offer on a property after a lengthy wait. Mrs D wants the Council or housing association to prioritise her when it relists the property or to offer her alternative accommodation. Mrs D also refers to not being awarded band B on the housing register sooner than 2022.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. 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
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants; or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

4. Complaints about the actions of a housing association are considered by the Housing Ombudsman.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mrs D as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

7. Mrs D complained to the Council in January 2025 that she had been offered a housing association property and had been waiting from 2022 to November 2023. The housing association had withdrawn the offer. The Council replied on 6 February that it was the housing association’s decision to withdraw the offer, and the Council had no control over the housing association’s stock management. Mrs D pursued her complaint a few days later and added that she should have been awarded band B for housing bids sooner than 2022. She believed she had missed out on successfully bidding for a property because of this delay. She wanted to be given priority when the properties were advertised again. The Council issued its final response in March. It had checked to see if Mrs D missed out on successfully bidding for a home between 2020 and 2022. The evidence showed she would not have secured a property even at band B during that time. The Council reiterated it had no control over who the housing association properties were allocated to, that was a decision made by the housing association.
8. I have decided to discontinue the investigation. The key action Mrs D complains about is the housing association’s decision to withdraw an offer on a property. Mrs D wants the housing association to offer her alternative accommodation. Those matters fall outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because we cannot consider the actions of a housing association. I understand Mrs D would also like the Council to prioritise her if the properties are advertised again. There is no requirement on the Council to do this. The Council should act in line with its allocations policy and so would need to assess all interested applicants for the properties to see who has the highest priority rather than automatically giving Mrs D priority. I do not see there is enough evidence of fault to justify further investigation.
9. In respect of the band B delay I consider the events happened some time ago and fall outside of the timeframe we would usually investigate. Furthermore, we cannot add to the investigation already carried out by the Council. It explained in its March 2025 response to Mrs D that she had not lost out on bidding successfully for a home between 2020 and 2022.
10. I appreciate this will be disappointing for Mrs D, but I see no basis to warrant further investigation of her case.

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Decision

11. I have ended the investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman