Summary: Miss X complained the Council has failed to comply with our recommendations to review her priority under the housing allocation scheme following her previous complaint. We found the Council has fulfilled our recommendation to reassess Miss X’s priority based on overcrowding.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council has failed to comply with our recommendations following her previous complaint. Specifically a recommendation that the Council reconsider Miss X’s request for increased priority based on overcrowding at her home. And, if this new assessment increased Miss X’s priority on the housing register the Council should backdate this priority and consider whether she had missed out on an offer of alternative accommodation
2. Miss X complained the Council has awarded additional priority but has not considered whether this additional priority would have affected her bids for properties.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations

7. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
8. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises. It uses a banding scheme to prioritise applications. Those with the highest priority will be awarded Band 1, and those with the lowest priority are awarded Band 5.
9. The policy uses the Department for Work and Pensions Bedroom Standard to determine overcrowding. Applicants living in overcrowded conditions who have been assessed as being two bedrooms short of what they need are awarded Band 2. While households who are overcrowded and require one further bedroom are awarded Band 3.

What happened here

10. Miss X had previously complained to us about the Council’s assessment of her priority on the housing register and how it had considered the extent of their overcrowding. We found the Council’s failure to have proper regard to the statutory overcrowding standards was fault. The Council agreed to reassess Miss X’s priority based on overcrowding.
11. It also agreed that if, following this new assessment it increased Miss X’s priority on the housing register it would:
1. backdate this priority to Miss X’s initial request for overcrowding priority; and
2. consider whether this increased priority would have affected any bids Miss X has made for properties under the choice-based lettings scheme. If Miss X has missed out on an offer of alternative accommodation the Council would seek to redress this in line with our guidance on remedies by way of a direct offer or symbolic payment
12. The Council visited Miss X’s home to measure the rooms and assess whether she met the statutory overcrowding threshold. It then wrote to Miss X on 14 March 2025 confirming she did not meet the definition of statutory overcrowding. It explained that although the small bedroom was too small to be used as sleeping accommodation, she was not statutorily overcrowded as they still had two bedrooms and a living room.
13. Under the Council’s overcrowding policy Miss X qualified for Band 3 overcrowding priority as she was short of one bedroom. The Council confirmed she would remain in Band 3.
14. Miss X made a formal complaint about the way the Council had measured the rooms in her home and its view that the living room should be used for sleeping.
15. The Council responded on 23 May 2025. It accepted the small bedroom was not ideal for a child of Miss X’s daughter’s age. And to reflect this the Council said it would increase Miss X’s priority to Band 2, in line with households assessed as being two bedrooms short of what they need.
16. Miss X asked the Council to backdate the increased priority and to compensate her in line with our recommendations. The Council noted it had not found that she was statutorily overcrowded but had made a discretionary decision to increase her banding. It agreed to back date this priority but did not consider part b) of our recommendations applied.
17. As Miss disagrees she has asked us to consider her complaint. Miss X asserts that as the Council has increased her priority it should now consider whether this increased priority would have meant her bids on properties would have been successful.

Analysis

18. We are satisfied the Council has complied with our recommendation to reassess Miss X’s priority based on overcrowding.
19. Miss X disputes the room measurements and that the living room can be used for sleeping accommodation. However there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council assessed whether Miss X was statutorily overcrowded. The Council measured the rooms and determined the small bedroom did not meet the minimum size standards for sleeping accommodation. It accepted Miss X’s household was overcrowded but not statutorily overcrowded as she could use the living room.
20. The definition of statutory overcrowding is set out in the Housing Act 1985. This specifically says that a room is available as sleeping accommodation if it is normally used as a bedroom or as a living room. The Council can therefore take account of the living room when assessing whether Miss X’s home is statutorily overcrowded.
21. As this reassessment did not increase Miss X’s priority no further action was required. The second part of our recommendation was not triggered. The Council’s subsequent discretionary decision to award Band 2 priority does not change this. Miss X has benefitted from this discretionary decision.

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Decision

22. I find fault no fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman