Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s housing application. The Council accepted fault and has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a remedy for the injustice to Miss X. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council incorrectly placed her in the wrong priority band on the housing register for a couple of years. She says this means others were unfairly rehoused before her.
2. Miss X wants the Council to change her position on the list to reflect the time she spent in the wrong band. She also wants compensation for the distress caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X complained to the Council about her priority for social housing in February 2025. The Council upheld her complaint and accepted she should be in a higher priority band. It increased her priority. The Council backdated the resulting increase in priority to February 2025. The Council explained to Miss X she had not missed out on an offer of housing because of the delay.
7. However, the Council had the information it used to agree the backdate in October 2024.
8. If we investigated, it is likely we would find fault causing Miss X injustice. She has missed out on five months of waiting time on the list. We asked the Council to consider remedying this injustice by backdating the application to October 2024.
9. To its credit, the Council agreed to put things right and will backdate Miss X’s application within four weeks of this decision.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman