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. Ms X complained about the Council’s assessment of her housing application. She says she should have an extra bedroom awarded because of her child’s medical needs and her own needs. She also says that she believes she should be awarded band A priority rather than Band B which she is currently on.

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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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. 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. Ms X says the Council failed to give her application sufficient property even though she had four medical assessments in 2024 and her needs changed. She applied for a review of her housing banding priority in February 2025 and the Council sent her the review outcome in April.
6. The Council told her that her child’s medical needs do not qualify for an additional bedroom under its housing allocations policy. The threshold for Band A priority is set very high and only applies to those who are unable to access their accommodation or where there is an emergency need for rehousing within the borough. These cases are assessed above those with other medical needs, overcrowding or homelessness which fall into Band B.
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. I have seen no evidence of fault which would suggest that Ms X should be placed in a higher banding. 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.

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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