Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing allocations. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. We are unlikely to find fault with the remaining issues complained about.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains her social housing property is overcrowded and unsuitable and in a poor state of repair. She says the Council is refusing to rehouse her and her daughter, Y. Miss X says this is making Y’s health worse and is causing stress. She wants the Council to rehouse her and Y.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
4. 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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X has lived in her current property since 2020. She completed a housing application in 2024. The Council decided Miss X would be in priority band C. Miss X asked the Council for a review and it awarded her band A status.
9. I understand Miss X feels the current property is unsuitable for her family because the property is in a poor state of repair. Miss X further complained the Council refused to put up a fence in her garden. These issues are about the Council’s role as a social landlord. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. Miss X could consider complaining about those issues to the Housing Ombudsman.
10. I understand Miss X feels she has waited too long for the Council to rehouse her. However, the Council has awarded Miss X the highest priority band on its housing register. It has advised her to continue bidding on properties. The Ombudsman recognises the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. The Ombudsman is unlikely to find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy.
11. Miss X said she believed she should be rehoused as a priority because of the issues at the property. I am satisfied the Council properly followed its lettings scheme policy. It considered medical evidence provided by Miss X when it decided she did not meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances.
12. 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.

13. Miss X further complained she was experiencing anti social behaviour from her neighbours. There is insufficient evidence that Miss X has complained about this to the Council. It would be reasonable for Miss X to make a separate complaint to the Council. We will therefore not investigate this part of Miss X’s complaint.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. We are unlikely to find fault with the remaining issues.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman