Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s assessment of her housing application priority. She says that she should be awarded a higher priority banding because she needs to move from her council home which is overcrowded and has problems with disrepair and noise from neighbouring tenants.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X says the Council has not recognised her need to transfer to a different property because of overcrowding and also her medical needs which are being affected by disrepair in her home and noise from neighbouring tenants.
7. The Council carried out a review of her banding priority in 2015 at Miss X’s request. She had an opportunity to provide supporting documents and detail any changes in her circumstances. The outcome of the review was that she remained in Band 3 with medium medical/welfare priority and a 3-bedroom need.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
9. We may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Miss X’s application should be placed in a higher banding.
10. We cannot investigate the complaint about disrepair in her council home or domestic noise from neighbours because we have no jurisdiction to investigate the management of tenancies by social housing landlords.

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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 would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman