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

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s decision to reject her application to the housing register despite her claims that her current home is unsuitable for her needs. She says she should be accepted onto the register due to her need for accommodation which meets her medical needs.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms x lives in a 12th floor, 2-bedroom flat which she says is unsuitable for her medical needs. She says the main problem is that the lifts in the block have been sometimes unserviceable and she cannot manage stairs to the 12th floor or ground level. She also says the flats are subject to pest problems and her mental health is suffering due to isolation.
6. The Council reviewed her application under s.166A of the Housing Act 1996 part 6. It’s medical assessment concluded that her current housing meets her needs in terms of space and access and she does not meet the threshold to be given priority under its housing allocations policy. Ms X is in lifted accommodation and application on the housing register in her situation may be offered similar lifted accommodation to that she already occupies. The serviceability of lifts in a particular building is not one of the criteria for assessing medical needs under the allocations policy.
7. I have read all the correspondence and I can see nothing which indicates that Ms X’s housing application has been given the wrong banding priority. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application or a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment to 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