Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to accept his application for its Home Buy Allocation Scheme. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council unfairly refused to accept his application for the Home Buy Scheme.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X applied to purchase a property through the Council’s Home Buy Scheme. The Scheme is for people who cannot afford to buy their own home but do not qualify for social housing.
6. The Council publishes the criteria for the scheme online. Applicants must live or work within the Borough.
7. When Mr X applied, he did not work or live in the Borough, but he did have a job offer so the Council allowed his application. Mr X then said the start date had been postponed and was dependent on him buying the house.
8. The Council considered the information provided by Mr X. It refused his application because he did not have an unconditional commitment to start work in the area within two months.
9. 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, even if a complainant disagrees with the decision.
10. I will not investigate this complaint because, based on the information I have seen, there is not enough evidence of fault with how the Council made the decision to refuse Mr X’s application for the Home Buy Scheme.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman