Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to allocate social housing to him because there is no evidence of fault. We will not investigate its failure to take a homelessness application in August or December 2023. This is because the Council has upheld the complaint and agreed to remedy the uncertainty caused by paying him £250, which is appropriate.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to assist him when he became homeless and has not allocated social housing for him. He says that, as a result, he has been sofa surfing since August 2023.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X is on the Council’s housing register and has been biding for social housing but has not yet been successful.
6. In August 2023, he told the Council he had left his accommodation because he could not afford the rent. Around this time, he made a formal complaint. In its complaint response, the Council explained he would find housing more quickly if he looked for private rented accommodation and set out how it could help with the upfront costs of doing so.
7. In December 2023, an agency told the Council Mr X was sofa surfing and wanted to make a homelessness application.
8. Mr X complained to us in February 2024, and we referred the complaint back to the Council so it could complete its complaints process.
9. In its final complaint response in April 2024, the Council accepted it should have taken a homelessness application in August 2023 and in December 2023. However, it would have recommended Mr X look for private rented sector housing which Mr X says he cannot afford. It has since accepted a relief duty.
10. The Council also reviewed his priority on its housing register and made some changes but said this did not affect his priority overall. It confirmed his failure to successfully bid was due to a shortage of social housing and significant demands for it.
11. If we were to investigate the complaint, it is likely we would find fault with the Council for not taking a homelessness application earlier. If it had done so, it would have accepted a relief duty earlier and would have issued a personalised housing plan setting out the steps Mr X and the Council would take to address his housing situation. It is likely it would have given the same advice about looking for private rented accommodation, but Mr X has consistently said he wants social housing because he considers private rented sector housing is not affordable.
12. That said, Mr X is left with some uncertainty about whether the outcome would have been different if he had been assisted earlier, which is an injustice to him. We therefore asked the Council to consider making a payment of £250 to remedy that injustice, which it has agreed to do within one month of the date of this decision. It has also agreed to share the learning from this complaint with relevant staff to prevent recurrence.

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Final decision

13. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X and improving its service for others.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman