Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint from a Council tenant about the way the Council has dealt with her requests for adaptations to her property to meet the needs of her disabled daughter. This is because the law says we cannot consider complaints about actions councils take in their role as landlords of social housing.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Miss B, complained the Council had not responded properly to her requests for adaptations to her property to help her disabled daughter (‘C’). Miss B complained in particular about delays, inadequate adaptations, refusals to do necessary works and unreasonable proposals for further works. She felt the Council was more interested in saving on costs rather than doing what was best for C. Miss B was also unhappy about the behaviour of one of the Council officers involved in her case.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. In particular the Act says we cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. [Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5.5 (as amended)]

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Miss B provided with her complaint and her comments when we spoke on the telephone. I also gave Miss B an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision before I reached a final view in her case. In addition I took account of the Council’s response to my enquiries in Miss B’s case.

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What I found

4. Miss B is a Council tenant. She transferred to her current house last year. The Council had moved Miss B to a larger, adapted property because of C’s needs.
5. The house needed further adaptations to make it suitable for C, including the installation of a through floor lift. However it took many months for the adaptations to be agreed and for the works to be done.
6. Miss B was not satisfied with some of the finished works, particularly relating to the installation of the lift. Miss B also said the Council unreasonably refused to do some of the adaptations she felt were needed for C. In addition Miss B was unhappy about the behaviour of one of the officers dealing with her case, and she asked for that officer to be replaced.
7. In response the Council defended the way it had installed the lift and explained why some other works Miss B wanted were not justified. But the Council also said it would look into the need for further adaptations.
8. In addition the Council had already agreed that the existing wet room at the property was not suitable for C. As a result it said it would reconfigure the layout of the house to accommodate a new wet room.
9. However at the time of her complaint to the Ombudsman Miss B was still waiting for the Council to come up with new plans for the wet room. She also feared the Council would decide to go ahead with a proposal to convert one of the bedrooms to create space for the wet room, which would mean her family would lose important living space.

Analysis

10. However I consider the Ombudsman cannot become involved in Miss B’s complaint.
11. In particular, we no longer have power to investigate complaints about councils when they are acting as landlords of their social housing properties. This follows a change in the law in April 2013 which transferred authority for dealing with most complaints about council housing management to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
12. From the information provided I consider Miss B’s complaint against the Council is essentially about housing management issues. This is because the works to her property are being co-ordinated by the Council’s Neighbourhoods & Housing service.
13. In addition, the adaptations are being funded from the Council’s Housing Revenue Account rather than through a Disabled Facilities Grant. The Housing Revenue Account is ring-fenced for spending and income relating to the Council’s own housing stock.
14. I also understand that, although the Neighbourhoods & Housing service are acting in collaboration with other Council services such as Occupation Therapy in Miss B’s case, the Housing service is the ultimate decision maker about what works are reasonable and practical to carry out at her property.
15. So as Miss B’s complaint concerns the Council’s housing management role, I have concluded that we are prevented by law from investigating her case.

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Final decision

16. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint about the way the Council has dealt with issues concerning adaptations to her council house to meet the needs of her disabled daughter. This is because our jurisdiction does not cover complaints about the management of council housing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman