Summary: there was no fault in the way the Council dealt with Miss X’s Housing Register application and prioritised her bids for properties. Its decision not to proceed with an offer to move Miss X to a hostel in its area was not taken with fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council has not yet made her an offer of social housing although she has been on its Housing Register for ten years. She also says it has not given her clear advice and information about benefits and the impact on her future housing.
2. Miss X says the lack of a settled home is a source of constant stress and worry. She feels the Council have not listened to her and given her accurate advice.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have discussed the complaint with Miss X and considered records the Council sent with its response to my enquiries.
7. I have written to Miss X and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments.

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What I found

Miss X’s housing circumstances

8. In June 2017 Miss X asked the Council for assistance when her private landlord served a Notice to Quit because she was in rent arrears. The Council says it was not aware until then that Miss X had a private sector tenancy. It says she did not disclose this information when she completed the annual renewal for her Housing Register application and she kept the same correspondence address.
9. Since February 2018 Miss X and her son have shared a room in a hostel. They do not share cooking or bathing facilities with other households. The hostel is owned by a neighbouring Council, which I shall refer to as Council A, and is in its area. Hart District Council arranged this placement for Miss X.
10. In April 2019 the Council accepted it owed Miss X the main housing duty as an eligible homeless person in priority need who was not intentionally homeless. Miss X and her son remained in the hostel in Council B’s area and it became long-term temporary accommodation provided under the main housing duty.

The relevant law on housing allocations

11. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14)
12. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to certain groups of applicants, including homeless people. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

The Council’s housing allocations policy and choice-based lettings scheme

13. The Council must decide if the applicant has a housing need, and a “reasonable preference”, in order to qualify to join its Housing Register. People who are homeless have a reasonable preference.
14. The Council’s housing allocations policy includes other qualification criteria. It says a person will not qualify to join the Housing Register, or remain on the Register, if they are guilty of unacceptable behaviour that is serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant. The policy gives some examples of unacceptable behaviour. The list includes:

“Owing significant rent arrears and/or failing to comply with a current or past tenancy agreement with a Council, housing association or private landlord.”

15. The Council reviews all the applications on its Housing Register annually. It sends a renewal letter to ask applicants if they wish to remain on the Register. It also asks applicants to update them about any change in their circumstances.
16. If an existing applicant on the Register provides false information, or deliberately withholds information reasonably required to assess the application, the Council can close the application. The person may reapply to join the Register 12 months later provided he or she meets all the qualifying criteria at that time.
17. The Council runs a choice-based lettings scheme, called Hart Homes, to allocate social housing its area. The Council no longer owns any social housing stock. Housing Associations advertise available properties on the Hart Homes website. People on the Housing Register can express an interest in advertised properties by making bids.
18. After the closing date, the Council draws up a shortlist of eligible bidders ranked in order of priority. The applicant in the highest priority band, and with the earliest effective date, is considered first.
19. The current allocations policy places applicants in one of four priority bands based on an assessment of their housing needs. Band A is the highest and Band D is the lowest. Homeless households are placed in Band C (unless they meet the criteria for one of the higher priority bands).

Miss X’s Housing Register application - the background

20. This investigation will not examine all the decisions the Council has made over the years since Miss X first applied to join the Register in 2011. But I have included some background information to put recent events and decisions in context.
21. Miss X says she has been on the Council’s Housing Register since 2009. But the Council says she first applied to join the Register in October 2011.
22. The Council accepted her application and awarded Band D priority with an effective date of 13 October 2011.
23. In October 2013 Miss X’s application was demoted to Band E. The Council says she lost some priority because she had lost a previous private rented tenancy because of a breach of tenancy conditions (rent arrears or anti-social behaviour). She stayed in Band E for 12 months from the end of the tenancy.
24. In October 2014 the Council awarded Band D priority because the 12 months period had ended.
25. Miss X remained in Band D. She renewed her application annually. The Council says she did not report any change in her circumstances or tell them she had taken on a new private rented sector tenancy. She kept the same correspondence address.
26. Miss X approached the Council for housing assistance in June 2017, after her private landlord served a Notice to Quit due to rent arrears. The Council closed her Housing Register application in September 2017. It applied the rule in its housing allocations policy that says it will close an existing Housing Register application if the applicant owes significant rent arrears to a current or former landlord.
27. In January 2019 the Council accepted Miss X’s application to re-join the Housing Register. Following representations from Miss X, it backdated this application to 1 September 2018. By then she was homeless and in temporary accommodation so she qualified for Band C priority. The effective date of the current Housing Register application runs from 1 September 2018.
28. Miss X is entitled to bid for two bedroom properties.

Miss X’s bidding records

29. When the Council replied to my enquiries in late September 2019, it provided records of 31 bids Miss X has made since January 2019 when her current Housing Register application was made active.
30. I have examined the bidding records and outcomes for these 31 properties. They show:
• one property was allocated to an applicant with Band A priority;
• 15 properties were allocated to applicants with Band B priority;
• one property was withdrawn by a Housing Association because it was an adapted property suitable for a wheelchair user;
• 14 properties were allocated to applicants with Band C priority – but they all had earlier effective dates than Miss X.
31. The Council says applicants in Band C, who need two bedroom accommodation, face an average waiting time of two years and 11 months to make a successful bid. The actual waiting time varies from case to case. It will depend on how regularly the applicant bids, and whether they limit their bids to certain types of property and areas.
32. In Miss X’s case, the two years and 11 months runs from the date on which her current Housing Register application was made. She has not been on the Housing Register continuously since 2011. The effective date of her current application is 1 September 2018. There was a gap between June 2017 and September 2018 when her previous application was closed and she was not on the Register.

Analysis

33. Miss X believes she has been treated unfairly because she has waited too long for an offer of social housing. She says she has been on the Register for more than ten years. She does not understand why she has not been offered social housing yet when the Council says the average waiting time for Band C applicants is two years and 11 months.
34. The evidence I have seen shows Miss X has not been on the Housing Register continuously for ten years. The Council closed her application in 2017 when it discovered she owed significant rent arrears to her former private landlord. She did not re-join the Housing Register until September 2018. So Miss X’s effective date runs from then and not the date of the original application in 2011.
35. Although Miss X may feel this is unfair, I do not consider there has been any fault by the Council. It has applied the rule in its housing allocation scheme which says an existing application can be closed if the person owes significant rent arrears to a landlord. This lasts for one year and Miss X was then entitled to apply to re-join the Register.
36. I have also examined the outcome of the 31 bids Miss X has made for properties since January 2019. In all but one case, the properties were allocated to applicants in a higher priority band than Miss X, or those who were in Band C but with an earlier date than Miss X. In the other case, the Housing Association withdrew the property because it was specially adapted to meet the needs of a wheelchair user.
37. I see no evidence of fault in the way the Council assessed Miss X’s Housing Register application and prioritised her bids.

Housing Benefit entitlement

38. Universal Credit (UC) is being introduced to replace several means-tested benefits for people below pension age. Payments to help with rent are paid as part of the UC scheme, so there is no separate claim for housing benefit.
39. However, homeless people living in hostels or temporary accommodation are exempt and continue to claim Housing Benefit for rent. This exemption only applies while they occupy this type of accommodation.
40. In late January 2019 the Council offered to move Miss X to a hostel in its area which is managed by a Housing Association.
41. Miss X went to the Council’s office on 30 January 2019 to sign the agreement. During the visit, she completed a claim for Housing Benefit. The officer also asked her to make a claim for Universal Credit. Miss X refused to do so. The officer consulted a manager who said Miss X could not move to the hostel if she did not claim Universal Credit.
42. Miss X was unemployed. The Council says it must ensure people claim benefits to which they are entitled so they can afford to pay accommodation charges that are not covered by Housing Benefit. It says the Housing Association which manages the hostel would also have completed its own assessment. It would not accept Miss X’s nomination if it was not satisfied she could afford to pay the charges.
43. The Council has confirmed Housing Benefit would have met the rent element of the hostel charge. But there were substantial service charges which were not eligible for Housing Benefit (including a charge for water and heating).
44. The Council has explained that people who move to this hostel also need a move-on plan. If they do not claim all the benefits to which they are entitled, they will not be able to afford to move to more settled accommodation, such as in the private rented sector.
45. The Council did not proceed with the offer of accommodation in its hostel because it was not satisfied Miss X could afford to pay all the charges if she did not claim Universal Credit. According to the case notes, Miss X said she did not want any further assistance from the Council and she would find accommodation independently.
46. In the event the Council negotiated with Council B and it agreed that Miss X and her son could remain in its hostel.

Analysis

47. Miss X was entitled to claim Housing Benefit to meet the rent element of the hostel charge. As the hostel was temporary accommodation for homeless households, it was exempt accommodation and Miss X did not need to claim Universal Credit for the rent.
48. Miss X made it clear in meetings with officers that she did not wish to claim Universal Credit as a matter of principle. That was her right and the Council could not force her to make a claim. However, the total charge for the hostel in Hart District Council’s area included service charges that were not eligible for Housing Benefit. The Council had to consider how Miss X would afford to pay these charges if she did not claim all her benefit entitlements, including Universal Credit. It also had to consider how she would afford to move on from the hostel to more settled accommodation if she was not working and not willing to claim Universal Credit. She could not claim Housing Benefit to pay rent on settled accommodation in the private rented sector.
49. Having considered the evidence, I do not consider it was fault for the Council not to proceed with the offer of accommodation in the hostel in its area because it was not satisfied Miss X could afford to pay all the charges.

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Final decision

50. I have completed the investigation and found the Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman