Summary: We will cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to allow a tenant to assign their Council tenancy in favour of their daughter. Matters related to the management of social housing tenancies are outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider them.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council refusing to assign her tenancy to her daughter so that she can remain in the family home if she goes into social care on an initial trial basis. She says her daughter is vulnerable and would not be able to cope with being moved to a smaller property in another part of the Council’s area.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X is a council tenant and she is considering moving into social care but she does not wish to make her daughter who lives with her homeless. she says that she may decide that she will return to her home if the move is not agreeable and wants to secure her daughter’s future in the family home.
6. She asked the Council to assign the tenancy to her daughter and it refused. It told her that tenancy assignment is a legal matter and that the Council would offer her daughter a smaller tenancy elsewhere because the house has 3 bedrooms and it adapted for disabled needs. Under the provisions of the housing Act 1985 the Council as landlord can refuse assignments under certain conditions.
7. The Council also referred to its housing allocations policy which would apply to her daughter should the tenancy be surrendered. This has specific provisions against being allocated homes where under-occupation would take place.
8. We cannot investigate this complaint. Tenancy assignment, whether by mutual exchange, succession or landlord’s discretion is a legal matter and it is governed by the legislation. Council decisions on tenancy management fall within the remit of the Housing Ombudsman Service and we are statute-barred from investigating these legal matters.
9. Although Mrs X’s daughter’s application falls within the allocations policy, she has not been made any offers because the tenancy has not been assigned and the Council has so far only given advice about the likely outcome of Mrs X giving up her secure tenancy.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to allow a tenant to assign their Council tenancy in favour of their daughter. Matters related to the management of social housing tenancies are outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider them.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman