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 to her housing application. She says she had previously qualified for 3-bedroom allocation but following a review in February 2025 she had her priority reduced to 2-bedroom need because the Council says she does not require overnight care which would warrant an additional bedroom. She also complained about her home being the subject of an unsuitable offer in 2023 when she was rehoused by the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X says she was offered an unsuitable property when she accepted her current Council tenancy in 2023. We will not consider this aspect of the complaint because it relates to matters which Miss X was aware of more than 12 months before she complained to us. She asked for a review of suitability at the time in 2023 and when this was unsuccessful she did not appeal or complain to us. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
7. Miss X complained about the decision to reduce her housing application priority. This was based on evidence which she provided for a medical assessment in December 2024 and was decided in February 2025. The Council said advice from social services was that she did not require an additional bedroom for overnight care because she did not meet the threshold for needing that support. The Council said that if her medical needs change she could submit a further review request.
8. 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

9. 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