Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X and Mrs Y’s housing register application. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X and Mrs Y complained the Council had not considered medical evidence when it assessed their housing application.
2. Mr X and Mrs Y said their property is unsuitable and is causing an impact to the wellbeing of their family.
3. Mr X and Mrs Y want the Council to provide a new impartial review on their housing application, provide an apology and review its processes.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X and Mrs Y live with their three children in a two-bedroom flat. The Council assessed the family as overcrowded, lacking one bedroom. It said no immediate resolution was possible because of a severe shortage of social housing.
8. The Council considers medical evidence presented to them. A trained medical assessor reviewed Mr X and Mrs Y’s evidence. The Council awarded category C for welfare after the assessment. Mr X and Mrs Y disagreed with the Council’s assessment and said they are category A for both medical and welfare.
9. In its complaint response, the Council said it accepted Mr X and Mrs Y were living in overcrowded housing and category C was the correct banding according to is policy.
10. We will not investigate Mr X and Mrs Y’s complaint that the Council’s assessment of their housing application was wrong. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. It is not our role to say whether the Council’s decision is correct. Unless we find fault in the decision-making process, we cannot comment on the decisions reached. The law says councils must allocate social housing in line with their published allocations scheme.
11. The Council followed the processes set out within its housing allocations scheme when it carried out Mr X and Mrs Y’s review. It considered the information provided when it determined their application.
12. 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 the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. However, there is no fault in how the Council considered Mr X and Mrs Y’s application.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X and Mrs Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman