Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council handled his housing register and homelessness applications. We have not found fault by the Council in the way it dealt with his applications.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I am calling Mr X, complains about the way the Council has dealt with his housing register and homelessness applications. He says the Council:

• wrongly decided, on his homelessness application, it did not owe him any current housing duty because he had no local connection. It also failed to respond to his request to review this decision;
• failed to respond to his requests for reviews of its decisions about his housing register application; and
• failed to provide him with permanent housing, despite promising to do so.

2. Mr X wants the Council to provide him with suitable permanent accommodation immediately.

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What I have and have not investigated

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide it would be, or would have been, reasonable for the person to ask for an organisation review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
5. Although Mr X first contacted us in December 2021, he did not make any specific complaints about the Council. Only that it had not moved him to a ground floor one bedroom flat as it had promised to do. We could not look at this because Mr X had not yet made a complaint to the Council.
6. In April 2022, the Council issued an initial response to the complaint made to it by Mr X. He came back to us in June 2022. Mr X complained the Council had failed to provide him with accommodation despite promising this for over two years, failed to comply with its duties, follow housing plans, conduct statutory reviews, and properly consider evidence about his medical conditions. We began our investigation after the Council issued its final response to Mr X’s complaint.
7. I do not consider we should investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision in March 2021 to close his homelessness application. The Council confirmed this to Mr X in writing, together with his right to ask for a review of its decision. In my view it would have been reasonable for Mr X to ask the Council to review the decision.
8. I have investigated events from June 2021. This is because Mr X did not contact us about his specific complaint issues until June 2022. I do not consider there are good reasons why a complaint about things that happened before June 2021 could not have been brought to us before June 2022.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

9. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these.
10. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
11. 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)
12. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

13. I spoke to Mr X, read his complaint and the Council’s response to our enquiries, together with all the other information Mr X, and the Council provided about the complaint.
14. I invited Mr X and the Council to comment on a draft version of this decision. I considered their responses before making my final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

The Council’s Housing Act duties

15. The Housing Act 1996 (the Housing Act) sets out councils’ duties to homeless applicants, and include:
1. The prevention duty: If councils are satisfied an applicant is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help the applicant to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicant’s case. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
2. The relief duty: Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
3. The main homelessness duty: If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need, the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Referral to another council

16. If a council’s enquiries determine an applicant has a local connection with another council, it can refer the case to the other council at the point of the relief or main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 198 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.30)
17. Before making the referral at the point of the relief duty, the notifying council must be satisfied the applicant is homeless and eligible for assistance and that the conditions for referral are met. (Housing Act 1996, section 198(A1) and Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.37)
18. The notifying council must notify applicants:
1. when it has decided the conditions for a referral have been met and it intends to or has notified another council of its decision (notice (a)); and
2. following the referral, when it has been decided the conditions for referral are or are not met. The notification must provide notice of the decision and the reasons for it (notice (b)). (Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.39)
19. From the date the notice (b) is issued to the applicant, if it is decided the conditions for referral are met, the applicant is to be treated as having made an application to the notified council. At this point the notifying council’s duties under Part 7 of the Housing Act come to an end. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.41)

Reviews of decisions about referrals

20. Applicants have the right to request a review of various decisions relating to a local connection and referrals:

• Under section 202(1) (c) of the Housing Act an applicant is able to request a review of a council’s decision (as set out in notice (a)) to notify another council the referral conditions are met where the main housing duty is owed; but
• the applicant does not have the right to request a review of this decision (in notice (a)) at the relief stage (Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.56); and
• under section 202 (1) (e) applicants have the right to request a review of the decision (in notice (b)) on whether the referral conditions are met at both the relief and main housing duty stage (Homelessness Code of Guidance 10.57).

The Council’s housing allocations policy

21. 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))
22. The Council’s published scheme says only applicants who meet the relevant qualification criteria can be included on the housing register.
23. If an applicant is accepted onto the housing register the Council will assess their level of housing need and place them in one of four bands:

• The highest priority is Band 1 for emergency priority cases where the need to move is extremely pressing.
• The lowest is Band 4 for reduced priority cases where applicants either have no reasonable preference but are still allowed to register or have reasonable preference but do not meet the residence qualification.

24. The Council will close housing applications in certain cases, including where there has been a change in the applicant’s circumstances which means they are no longer eligible or no longer qualify.

Decisions about housing register applications and review rights

25. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:

• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person; and
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.

26. The Council must notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
27. Applicants can also ask the council to review decisions about their housing priority.

What happened

28. I have set out a summary of the key events below. It is not meant to show everything that happened. It is based on my review of all the evidence provided about this complaint.
29. I am only investigating Mr X’s complaint about things that happened after June 2021. But I have set out some background about what happened before June 2021 as context for my investigation.

Background

30. Mr X approached the Council for help with his housing situation in 2019. In February 2019, the Council helped him secure a private rented property with a two-year assured shorthold tenancy in Council B’s area. It wrote to Mr X on 29 March 2019 confirming by arranging this accommodation for Mr X no further housing duty was now owed.
31. In May 2020 Mr X approached the Council for help regarding the Section 21 notice served by his landlord. The Council accepted the prevention duty and completed a personalised housing plan with Mr X.
32. Mr X also made an application to join the Council’s housing register. The Council wrote to Mr X on 16 February 2021 confirming his application had been accepted, backdated to 21 October 2020, and he had been assessed as Band 4 for a one- bedroom property.
33. The threat of court action by Mr X’s landlord continued. In February 2021 the landlord obtained a possession order for Mr X’s accommodation.
34. After contact with Mr X in February and March 2021, the Council wrote to Mr X on 11 March 2021 informing him it had decided to end the prevention duty as he had told it he wanted to withdraw his homelessness application to the Council. It confirmed his right to ask for a review of this decision. It also explained if Mr X was homeless, or threatened with homelessness in the future, he should contact Council B as his local connection was now with them.

October 2021 - Mr X’s further contact with the Council

35. Mr X contacted the Council again about his housing situation as his landlord was taking further court action to evict him.
36. The Council wrote to Mr X on 15 October. It confirmed:

• The position with his housing register application as set out in its letter of February 2021;
• If he was threatened with homelessness he could approach Council B for help, as he was living in that council’s area;
• If he asked the Council for help it would assess his situation and the action to be taken to prevent him from becoming homeless, including finding alternative accommodation in the private sector; and
• If he were to become homeless the Council would consider whether it owed him the relief duty. As he currently lived in Council B’s area it would consider a referral to Council B under section 198 of the Housing Act.

37. On 27 October Mr X’s landlord obtained a court warrant for his eviction on 18 November.

November 2021 - Mr X’s homelessness application

38. Mr X made a homelessness application to the Council on 19 November.
39. The Council wrote to Council B the same day, making a local connection referral of its section 189B relief duty for Mr X under section 198 of the Housing Act.
40. The Council sent Mr X notice (a) of its referral on 19 November. It said:

• It had assessed he was eligible for help and was homeless;
• It had assessed he did not have a local connection to the Council and had referred his case, and the S189B relief duty, to Council B where he did have a local connection;
• It would tell him the outcome of the referral as soon as Council B had responded;
• It did not have reason to believe he might be in priority need and so would not provide interim accommodation under S199A(2) until Council B decided to accept the referral;
• There was no right to ask for a review of this decision (to make a referral); and
• Mr X would have the right to request a review when it notified him (in notice (b)) of its decision on whether the referral conditions had been met. It provided the review officer’s email address and said the request must be made within 21 days of receipt of the decision letter.

41. Mr X has provided us with a letter addressed to the Council dated 19 November. He said in this letter he wanted a review of the Council’s decision of 19 November 2021 he did not have a local connection.

December 2021 – the Council’s referral decision

42. Council B told the Council it accepted Mr X’s referral.
43. On 8 December the Council sent Mr X notice (b) about its referral decision. It told him:

• Council B had confirmed it accepted the referral and owed Mr X the S189B duty;
• This meant the Council no longer had any duty towards him;
• He should now co-operate with Council B and their enquiries regarding his housing situation; and
• He had the right to request a review of this decision and could do so by emailing them within 21 days of this decision. It provided the email address.

44. Mr X replied to the Council on 8 December. He complained about the officer who had notified him about Council B’s acceptance of the referral. He said he had a legal duty from the Council in writing. He demanded to be moved to permanent one bedroom accommodation, temporary accommodation or private sector accommodation within the Council’s area immediately.

March to April 2022

45. Mr X does not appear to have contacted the Council again directly after 8 December 2021, until March 2022.
46. Mr X complained to the Council in March 2022. In its response to Mr X on 6 April, the Council said:

• His complaint was the Council had promised to provide him with accommodation on a number of occasions but failed to do so. He wanted it to provide him with accommodation immediately;
• It had carried out a housing needs assessment (in November 2021) and decided it owed him the relief duty. But as he had no local connection to the Council and was resident in Council B’s area for two years, it made a referral to Council B as this was where he had the local connection;
• The referral was accepted which brought its housing duty to him to an end. It informed him of this in December 2021;
• The Council did not owe him any further assistance and he should approach Council B for help now; and
• If he was unhappy with this response, he could ask for a review of his complaint.

47. In a number of telephone calls with Mr X between 14 and 24 April, the Council told Mr X it would not accept a further homelessness application from him because his case had already been referred to, and accepted by, Council B. He was advised to approach Council B for assistance.
48. On 25 April the Council told Mr X by email:

• It did not owe him any duties under Part 7 of the Housing Act. The previous duty it had accepted in 2020 was ended when he withdrew his application in March 2021. And its duty in November 2021 was ended when Council B accepted the referral in December 2021;
• It had decided it was under no obligation to take a new application from him because there had been no material change of circumstances; and
• There was no right to request a review of this decision.

January 2023 - the Council’s final complaint response

49. The Council issued its final complaint response to Mr X on 19 January. It confirmed what it had said in its responses of April 2022.

Mr X’s housing register application

50. Mr X’s housing register application was accepted on 16 February 2021, backdated to 21 October 2020. He was assessed as Band 4 for a one- bedroom property.
51. The Council has told us, although Mr X told it about his medical conditions on a number of occasions, he did not make a specific request for a re-assessment of his priority banding because of medical circumstances.
52. In August 2022 it received medical information from him in support of his request for a ground floor property.
53. In May 2023 it reassessed his priority band and decided to place him in Band 3. Mr X asked for a review of this decision.
54. It reviewed its decision. On 26 May 2023 it told Mr X it was overturning the decision to award him Band 3 priority and substituting a decision he was not qualified to remain on its housing register.

My analysis – was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

The decision to refer Mr X’s homelessness application to Council B

55. 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.
56. Here, if we consider the Council followed those processes correctly when it made its decision in December 2021, Mr X’s application met the conditions for referral to Council B, we cannot question whether its decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether Mr X disagrees with this.
57. Based on the evidence seen, my view is the Council properly considered the information Mr X provided with his homelessness application, including his residence with Council B’s area since 2019, before deciding to make a referral to Council B. It properly notified Mr X of the referral on 19 November 2021.
58. In my view, on receiving Council B’s confirmation it accepted the referral, it then properly notified Mr X on 8 December 2021 of its decision his case met the referral conditions, and his right to request a review of this decision.
59. I do not consider there was fault in the way the Council made its decision the conditions for the referral of Mr X’s application to Council B had been met.

Should the Council have reviewed this decision?

60. The Council has told us it has no record of receiving a letter from Mr X dated 19 November requesting a review of the decision to make the referral to Council B. Mr X’s written contact with the Council before and after this date was by email only. It says it has no record of any email from Mr X attaching this letter. I have not seen any information from Mr X confirming he emailed the letter to the Council.
61. But in any event, as there is no right to ask for a review of a decision to make a referral at the relief duty stage, I do not consider there was fault by the Council in not carrying out a review of the decision in its letter to Mr X of 19 November 2021.
62. Mr X had the right to ask for a review of the Council’s decision in its notice to him of 8 December 2021 that his application met the conditions for referral to Council B. The Council notified him of this right and provided the email address to which the request should be sent.
63. I have not seen any evidence Mr X made a request for a review of the Council’s decision in its notice of 8 December. I do not consider there was fault by the Council in not carrying out a review of its decision of 8 December.

Mr X’s housing register application

64. I have not seen any evidence the Council failed to respond to a request from Mr X for a review of decisions made on his housing register application, including any decision about a request for a change in his priority banding.
65. I have not found fault by the Council in the way it considered Mr X’s housing register application in the period up to January 2023 when the Council issued its final response to this complaint.

Conclusion

66. The relief duty the Council owed Mr X in November 2021 ended when Council B accepted the referral in December 2021. The Council has decided not to take a new homelessness application from Mr X because there are no new circumstances. Mr X does not have the right to ask the Council to review this decision because it is not one of the decisions specified in section 202 of the Housing Act.
67. This means, in my view, the Council does not owe any further duties to Mr X now under the homelessness legislation.
68. I have not seen any evidence the Council promised to provide Mr X with any accommodation.
69. I do not consider there has been fault by the Council in the way it dealt with Mr X’s homelessness application from November 2021, or in the period up to January 2023, with his housing register application.

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Final decision

70. I have completed my investigation into this complaint. I have not found fault by the Council in the way it handled Mr X’s housing register and homelessness applications.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman