Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council allocating properties to other applicants. We are unlikely to find fault with the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council is offering properties to applicants with lower priority on the social housing allocations scheme instead of her. Miss X also complains about the Council's conduct when she was evicted from a previous temporary accommodation. Miss X says the Council’s treatment has caused her distress. She wants the Council to acknowledge and remedy her concerns.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I have considered the Council’s social housing allocations scheme policy.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. The Council operates a social housing allocations scheme, and applicants are assigned a priority band when they join the scheme. They can then bid to move into suitable properties when they become available, with offers being made in accordance with their priority.
8. Miss X complained to the Council about several instances where she had bid on properties, but she believed they had been offered to applicants with lower priority. The Council investigated the examples and provided reasons for why those properties were offered to other people, and explained this was predominantly because of adaptations to those homes and was following its housing allocations policy. I am satisfied the council’s decisions were in line with the published policy, and so we are unlikely to find fault with the Council.
9. Based on the information provided to us by Miss X and the Council, I am not satisfied the Council has had the opportunity to investigate and reply to Miss X’s complaint regarding a previous eviction. I do not consider it unreasonable to expect Miss X to bring the complaint to the Council, and for it to reply. So, the restriction in paragraph 3 applies.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault with how the Council has administered its social housing allocations scheme, and because the Council has not had the opportunity to investigate the other elements of the complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman