Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his housing application. The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation. This is because the matter is still ongoing.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his housing application. Mr X says he and his family were living in statutory overcrowded housing. He complains the Council:

• Took over a year to process his application.
• Incorrectly downgraded his priority to band 4.
• Incorrectly applied its housing application policy.

Mr X is represented by Ms A.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I spoke with Ms A and considered the information she provided.
4. I sent a draft decision to Ms A and the Council for their comments.

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What I found

5. Mr X does not speak English as his first language.
6. In April 2018, Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register. The Council decided Mr X did not meet the local connection criteria.
7. In May 2018, Mr X the Council to review the decision. The Council decided to reopen his application.
8. Between July 2018 and March 2019, the Council said it asked Mr X to provide further information. The Council said while Mr X did provide some information, he did not provide all the information requested. The Council also said there was delay in Mr X providing the information he did. Mr X said he responded to the Council without delay.
9. In April 2019, the Council wrote to Mr X with its decision. It said the key facts provided by Mr X in support of his application were not true or were factually inaccurate. The Council determined Mr X had acted to gain an unfair advantage on the Council’s housing waiting list. The Council placed Mr X’s application in priority band 4.
10. Mr X made a complaint about the Council’s handling of his application in October 2018. The Council responded to this complaint in November 2018. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two in March 2019 and the Council responded in May 2019.
11. In September 2019, Mr X advised the Ombudsman he was getting legal advice and asked us to pause our investigation.
12. In October 2019, Mr X confirmed he was still pursuing the matter legally.

Analysis

13. Mr X has confirmed he is still pursuing this matter with the Council with his legal team. Therefore, the matter is still ongoing. It is difficult to conduct an effective investigation when a matter has not ended.
14. Further, the Ombudsman cannot keep the complaint open while Mr X continues to pursue the matter.
15. Therefore, I will discontinue my investigation. Mr X can return to the Ombudsman if he remains dissatisfied once the matter has concluded.

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Final decision

16. I have discontinued my investigation. This is because the matter is still ongoing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman