Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to retract a housing offer to Miss X. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to provide a different outcome for Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council offered her a property before later retracting the offer as the property was unsuitable.
2. Miss X says this matter caused her distress and inconvenience.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X was placed on the Council’s housing register in 2016 and she was assessed as eligible for a 2-bedroom property.
7. In early March 2023 a Council housing officer contacted Miss X and offered her a property in private rented accommodation. The offer was withdrawn shortly after this as the agent for the accommodation had failed to inform the Council the property was intended solely for wheelchair users.
8. Miss X complained to the Council as she was unhappy the offer had been retracted. The Council apologised and explained that the offer was made in error.
9. Miss X remains unhappy with the Council’s actions and wants us to find it at fault. The evidence shows that the Council mistakenly offered the property because the property owner omitted important details about the accommodation. Whilst it is understandable that Miss X is unhappy about this, the Council recognised the error in a timely manner and there is no evidence this matter has caused Miss X a significant injustice. An investigation into this matter would not result in a different outcome for Miss X.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to provide a different outcome for her.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman