Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on Miss X’s housing register points. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has not awarded her enough housing points, given her family is severely overcrowded and has serious medical conditions.

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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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Miss X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X has been on the Council’s housing register for over ten years.
8. I have considered her complaint about the Council’s latest review decision, of 2025. Any complaint about the Council’s previous decisions are out of time and I consider there is no good reason to exercise discretion.
9. In 2025 the Council reviewed its decision on the housing points awarded to Miss X. It referenced and considered the information and evidence Miss X provided against the criteria in its allocations policy. The Council noted it had already awarded Miss X 50 points for overcrowding. It explained it could not award any points based on medical need as it had not been shown her and her family’s health conditions were being made worse by their current housing. It said it carried out works to address damp and mould in November 2024 and Miss X should report any persisting issues to its repair teams to address.
10. In relation to overcrowding, the Council’s policy says it will award 50 points where a person has the same number of rooms as their assessed need. In this case the Council assessed Miss X as needing three bedrooms. She currently has use of two bedrooms and a living room, which the Council considers can be used as a bedroom. Therefore, the Council’s decision on points is in line with its allocations policy.
11. In relation to medical need, the Council’s policy says: a person’s medical condition must be caused or made worse by their housing; the property cannot be improved to meet need and; rehousing must improve the condition. In this case the Council did not have evidence of medical conditions and said it would address any damp and mould. Its decision that Miss X did not meet the criteria for points was therefore in line with is allocations policy.
12. The Council considered all the information available and decided in line with its allocations policy. We cannot find fault simply because Miss X disagrees with the decision reached. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making process to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman