Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Miss X’s housing register application. The Council has agreed a proportionate remedy for Miss X’s injustice which removes the need to investigate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council failed to place her on its direct offer list as it agreed to do. Miss X says that as a result she and her family lived in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary which had a serious impact on her child’s wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X applied for the Council’s housing register as she was living in accommodation that was not suitable for her child. In 2025 Miss X made a complaint to the Council about its delay in dealing with her housing register application. In response the Council acknowledged it had significantly delayed in dealing with her application. The Council also said that its delay may have caused Miss X to miss successfully bidding on a property.
6. The Council apologised to Miss X and offered a payment of £2660 to acknowledge the distress caused to her. It also agreed to put Miss X on its direct offer list so it could directly offer a suitable property to her. The Council advised Miss X to continue bidding on properties as she may have to wait a significant amount of time to be made a direct offer.
7. If we were to investigate the complaint, it is likely we would find fault causing injustice to Miss X. In response to our enquiries, the Council acknowledged it failed to add Miss X to the direct offer list as it had agreed to do. There is also no evidence it responded to Miss X’s email requesting an update on whether she was on the direct offer list. The Council has now placed Miss X on the direct offer list and made an offer to her. The evidence provided by the Council shows that it would not have made a direct offer to Miss X any sooner, even if it had placed her on the list without delay. But the delay and failure to respond to her email will have caused distress and uncertainty to her.
8. We therefore asked the Council to remedy Miss X’s injustice by sending a written apology and making a symbolic payment of £200 to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused to her.

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Agreed action

9. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint by sending a written apology and making a symbolic payment of £200 to Miss X. The Council should consider our expectations set out in our guidance on remedies when making the apology. The Council should also take this action within one month of my final decision.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman