Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about being considered to be non-qualifying for the Council’s housing register because he did not meet the local connection residency criteria. He also complained about his daughter being ineligible to be on his application as part of his household even though he has a court order for shared residency with both parents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council would not accept his housing application because he did not have a local connection with the area for the required five-year period. He asked for a review of his application and the Council decided to accept his application due to medical needs which made it an exception to the allocations policy.
6. He also asked the Council to review its decision not to allow his daughter to be on his application because she has joint residency with both parents under a court order. The Council’s allocations policy says that in such circumstances the Council will apply the test used under homelessness legislation to decide if a child should be eligible for an application. In this case the Council decided that it was reasonable for his daughter to live with her mother where she has accommodation.
7. 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, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
8. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Mr X’s application has been assessed incorrectly.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman