West Northamptonshire Council (25 021 674)
Category : Housing > Allocations
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council's handling of his housing register application. Mr X has started court proceedings, so we do not have the power to consider his complaint.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council:
- Changed his housing priority from Band A to Band C after changes to its housing register and system.
- Failed to recognise that his accommodation is unsuitable.
- Delayed dealing with his housing application and review request.
- Managed his complaint poorly.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has started a Judicial Review claim. Mr X has included the Council’s housing priority decision, its assessment of the suitability of his accommodation, the lack of alternative accommodation or a medical decant, and delay in the housing decision-making process in his Judicial Review claim. As Mr X has asked the Court to consider the Council’s actions, we do not have the power to investigate these matters.
- Mr X also complains of poor communication and complaint handling. We will not investigate this part of Mr X’s complaint because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we cannot look at the substantive issues.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. Mr X has started court proceedings, so we do not have the power to consider his complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman