Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about despair in her Council property because we cannot investigate complaints about councils acting in their capacity as social landlord. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making when it awarded band C on its housing register to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained her current accommodation is unsuitable because the bathroom is too small, it is affected by damp and mould, and she is overcrowded.
2. Ms X said her housing conditions led her to terminate a pregnancy as she didn’t want the child to suffer. She said she is currently pregnant and needs urgent rehousing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
5. 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, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

8. Ms X, a Council tenant, complained to the Council about the size of her bathroom, which she says makes it difficult to safely bathe her child. She told it she was pregnant and would be severely overcrowded when the baby was born because she is living in a one-bedroom property, and she asked it to consider awarding additional priority on its housing register so she could be rehoused urgently.
9. The Council inspected the property and decided the bathroom was an adequate size. Although it said it would ask its allocations team to review her priority band, it told us there were no grounds for a formal review. She is currently in band C.

My assessment

10. Ms X is a Council tenant. When addressing any concerns about disrepair and the bathroom size, the Council is acting in its capacity as social landlord. We cannot investigate a Council’s actions when it is acting as a social landlord. Therefore, we cannot investigate those parts of the complaint further.
11. In relation to the priority awarded on the Council’s housing register, the law says councils must make decisions in line with their published scheme. We are not an appeal body. Unless there was fault in the decision-making process, we cannot comment on the decision the Council reached.
12. Ms X has been accepted on the Council’s housing register for at least a year. If she disagreed with the priority band the Council awarded, it was reasonable for her to ask it for a review of its decision. Based on the information seen, the priority awarded is in line with the Council’s allocations scheme. We will not consider this part of the complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify doing so. In any case, we could not achieve the outcome Ms X wants as we cannot direct the Council to urgently rehouse her.
13. When Ms X’s baby is born, she can make a change of circumstances request, and we would expect the Council to consider whether this affects its view about the correct priority band. Ms X will have the right to ask for a review of its decision if she disagrees with it and it is reasonable for her to exercise that right.

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Final decision

14. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about disrepair because we cannot investigate the Council’s actions in its capacity as social landlord. We will not investigate any complaint about the priority band awarded on the Council’s housing register because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman