Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to transfer him to a property closer to his relative following years of disrepair and flood problems with his Council home. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the conditions in Mr X’s Council home concern a social housing landlord. These matters are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and Mr X has already contacted the Housing Ombudsman Service. There is no evidence of any fault in the assessment of his application to the housing transfer list.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains that the Council will not transfer him to a property near his relative which he says is currently vacant. He says his current home has suffered from disrepair and leaks from neighbouring property over the past decade.

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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)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response and Mr X has been given the opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X lives in a council property which he says has had problems with repairs and dampness over several years. He has also experienced leaks from other properties into his home. He asked the Council to transfer him to a vacant property which is near his relative upon whom he relies for care.
6. The Council says most of the repairs are historical and it has addressed them when reported over the years. It cannot prevent leaks into his home from other properties and has advised him to take out insurance to prevent further damage to his belongings from these events. The Council told him that the property he mentioned for a transfer is currently subject to a secure tenancy. If it became vacant in future the Council will be required to let it according to its housing allocation policy and it could not offer him a direct exchange of tenancy.
7. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaints about the repair issues in his Council home. There is insufficient evidence that there is any fault in the Council’s consideration of his transfer application. The Council must allocate its properties according to its scheme of allocation and it cannot offer him a property which is already subject to a secure tenancy.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the conditions in Mr X’s Council home concern a social housing landlord. These matters are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and Mr X has already contacted the Housing Ombudsman Service. There is no evidence of any fault in the assessment of his application to the housing transfer list.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman