Summary: Ms X complains that the Council wrongly refused her applications for the housing register. The Council is at fault at it did not provide sufficient information to Ms X on how she could seek a review of its decision in 2023 that she was not eligible to join the housing register. This caused uncertainty to her. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Ms X and giving her the opportunity to seek a review of its decision.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council:
1. failed to properly deal with her homelessness application between December 2019 and July 2020 which caused distress to her.
2. wrongly refused her applications for the housing register in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Ms X also complains that she received the Council’s decision letter too late in 2023 to be able to seek a review of its decision. Ms X considers that as a result she and her child are unable to move from their property which is overcrowded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have investigated complaint b). In doing so, I have exercised discretion to consider matters from September 2021. I consider it is necessary to investigate how the Council dealt with Ms X’s applications from this date to carry out a meaningful investigation.
6. I have not investigated complaint a). The events are now three to four years old so I do not consider I could reliably establish the facts and reach a safe conclusion on how the Council dealt with Ms X’s homelessness applications. This is due to the passage of time. I also could not achieve a meaningful outcome for Ms X by investigating the matters now.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have:

• Considered the complaint and the information provided by Ms X;
• Discussed the issues with Ms X;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered the information provided.
• Invited Ms X and the Council to comment on the draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))

9. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:

• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))
   

10. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:

• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.
   

11. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
12. Statutory guidance on the allocation of accommodation says review procedures should be clear and fair with timescales for each stage of the process and must accord with the principles of transparency and fairness. (Paragraph 5.23, Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local authorities).
13. The Council’s housing allocations scheme provides that an applicant must have lived in the borough for five of the last seven years to be eligible for the housing register. This requirement does not apply in a number of circumstances, including if an applicant is fleeing violence and harassment and it would be unsafe for them to remain in the area where they lived.

What happened

Background

14. Ms X moved into the Council’s area a few years ago as she was fleeing domestic abuse. Ms X applied to join the housing register. She had not lived in the borough for five out of seven years but the Council agreed Ms X could join the housing register as she was fleeing domestic abuse. Ms X then successfully bid on a property and accepted the tenancy.

Housing register application

15. In 2021, Ms X applied for the housing register again as she considered she was overcrowded. On her application form Ms X said she was still experiencing harassment and abuse. The Council’s records show officers contacted Ms X by telephone to obtain additional information about her reports of harassment. The records note officers were unable to discuss the matter with Ms X and she did not return the call as agreed. The Council decided Ms X did not meet the local connection criteria and refused her application for the housing register.
16. The Council wrote to Ms X to notify her of its decision. In the letter, the Council notified Ms X of her right to seek a review of this decision within 21 days of the date of the letter. The Council referred to a link to its website and a telephone number if Ms X wanted further information or had any questions on the allocation scheme. The letter did not explain how she could seek a review. Ms X did not seek a review of the Council’s decision.
17. Ms X made further applications to the housing register in spring 2022 and early 2023. The Council refused Ms X’s applications as it considered she did not meet the local connection criteria as she did not indicate she was fleeing domestic abuse. The Council notified her of her right of review but it did not explain how she could seek a review. It again referred her to a telephone number and link to its website if she had any questions about the allocations scheme.
18. Ms X did not seek a review of the Council’s decision in 2022 that she was not eligible for the housing register.
19. Ms X said she did not receive the Council’s decision within 21 days of the date of the letter sent in 2023. Ms X has said she telephoned the Council on receipt of the letter but could not speak to an officer to seek a review.
20. In late spring 2023, Ms X made a complaint. In response the Council explained that Ms X could have requested a review of its decision that she was not eligible for the housing register but she was now out of time to do so.
21. In response to my enquiries, the Council has said that it records show it posted the letter notifying Ms X of its decision on the 2023 application within one working day of the decision. It issues decisions by post as it considers the Housing Act 1996 envisaged notification by post and due to the volume of decisions it issues each day.

Analysis

22. Ms X had the right to seek a review of the Council’s decisions on her eligibility for the housing register. The focus of my investigation is therefore on how the Council notified Ms X of her right to seek a review rather than how it made its decision on her applications.
23. The Council notified Ms X that she had the right to seek a review of its decisions she was not eligible for the housing register in autumn 2021 and spring 2022. The Council also notified Ms X of her right to seek a review in early 2023. Its records show this letter was posted within one working day of the decision. I do not know why Ms X did not receive the letter for some weeks. But there is no evidence the delay was due to fault by the Council.
24. The Council’s decision letters, which also notify an applicant of their review rights, do not explain how to seek a review. This is fault. The failure to clearly explain how to seek a review means the Council’s review procedure is not transparent and it is not in accordance with the statutory guidance. It is also poor administrative practice.
25. The letters provide a telephone number if applicants have questions but this number is for the Council’s automated switchboard. It is not a direct dial telephone number to relevant officers. The switchboard does not give an option to contact the housing allocation team. The letter also provides a link to the Council’s website but, when tried, this link does not access the relevant page on the website. The Council is therefore putting barriers in the way of applicants seeking a review by not providing a direct telephone number to relevant officers or a direct email address. This is fault.
26. Ms X did not attempt to seek reviews of the Council’s decisions of 2021 and 2022 that she was not eligible to join the housing register. So, I do not consider the fault prevented her from seeking reviews of those decisions. Ms X has said she tried to contact the Council by telephone when she received the decision in 2023 but was unable to speak to an officer. I accept Ms X’s explanation given the lack of an option to contact the housing allocations team via the switchboard. Ms X’s review request would have been out of time at this point. But it is possible the Council would have exercised its discretion to allow an out of time review. The fault therefore caused some uncertainty to Ms X which the Council should remedy.

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Agreed action

27. The Council will:
1. Send a written apology to Ms X for the uncertainty caused by the failure to clearly explain how to seek a review of its decision that she was not eligible for the housing register. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
2. Reissue its 2023 decision that Ms X is not eligible for the housing register with a clear explanation of how she can seek a review of that decision.
3. Review its template letters for housing register application decisions to ensure the Council provides a clear explanation of how applicants can seek a review of those decisions and to ensure the letters comply with the requirements set out in paragraph 5.23 of the statutory guidance.
28. The Council should take the action at a) and b) within one month and the action at c) within two months of my final decision. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

29. Fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman