Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council considered Mrs X’s housing allocation. There is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council refused her application for a two-bedroom property.
2. Mrs X would like the Council to provide her with a two-bedroom property on medical grounds.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X made an application for a second bedroom under medical grounds and made a review request before March 2025.
8. The Council updated its policy in March 2025 and Mrs X says this is the reason she was not awarded a two-bedroom property.
9. The Council referred to the new policy by mistake in its correspondence to Mrs X which caused confusion. However the outcome was in line with a properly reached decision under the old policy.
10. We may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Mrs X should be given a second bedroom.
11. 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.
12. Mrs X should forward any new medical evidence to the Council and ask for a review.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman