Summary: there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council assessed Miss X’s priority on the Housing Register. The time she has been waiting for an offer of social housing is not due to fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained she has been waiting too long to be offered social housing since she was awarded Band 2 priority on the Housing Register despite her family’s urgent social and medical needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. The Ombudsman recognises that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. He may not find fault with a council for failing to rehouse someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published allocations scheme.
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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How I considered this complaint

5. I have spoken to Miss X and considered all the information she provided. I considered the Council’s comments and relevant documents, including its housing allocations policy.
6. Miss X and the council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Bexley Council does not own any housing stock. Most social housing in the borough is owned and managed by three Housing Associations. The Council works in partnership with them and nominates applicants on its Housing Register to be considered for properties when they become available.
8. The Council awards a priority band to applicants who qualify to join the Housing Register. This is based on an assessment of the applicant’s housing need. Band 1 is the highest priority and Band 4 is the lowest.
9. Band 2 priority can be awarded to applicants on urgent medical grounds. This applies when the applicant, or a member of their household, has an extremely urgent and immediate need to move for medical reasons, or due to a disability, which is made worse by their current housing conditions.
10. When an applicant is moved to a higher priority band, their priority date is the date they were approved for that band.
11. Available properties are advertised every week on a choice-based lettings system called Bexley Home Choice. Applicants express interest in advertised properties by placing a bid for them. At the close of the bidding period, a shortlist is drawn up. Bids are ranked in order on the shortlist by reference to the applicant’s priority band and then, within each band, the date they were approved for that band.
12. The Council may allocate properties outside the Bexley Home Choice scheme as a ‘direct offer’. This is used in exceptional cases where it is in the Council’s financial or strategic interests. A direct offer may be made to applicants for whom the Council has accepted a statutory homelessness duty, where there is an approved social need or in other exceptional circumstances.

Miss X’s circumstances

13. Miss X and her two young children are living with different relatives. On weekdays they stay with Miss X’s sister and her family. They sleep in the living room. At weekends they go to stay with Miss X’s elderly mother to give her sister and her family a break. They share one bedroom there.
14. Miss X says the lack of settled accommodation, space and privacy is having a very detrimental impact on her mental health and her children’s education and wellbeing. It is also causing tensions and putting her relationships with her sister and mother under severe strain.
15. Miss X has mental health conditions which are made worse by the shared living arrangements. Her eldest child, whom I shall call “P”, has been diagnosed with two neurodiverse conditions. An Occupational Therapist report from June 2022 says P has poor concentration and is easily upset. He can behave aggressively and become physically violent. It says P tried sharing a bedroom with his cousin but became aggressive towards him. He has a poor sleep pattern and no awareness of danger. He tries to climb up and open windows and jumps down the stairwell in his aunt’s property.
16. The Occupational Therapist said P has no structure with the current sleeping arrangements. He needs to be closely supervised when he is with his sibling and cousin. He is also at risk above ground floor level and on stairs due to his erratic behaviour and lack of awareness of danger. He cannot share a bedroom without putting another family member at risk.
17. After considering the Occupational Therapist’s report, and evidence from P’s consultant confirming his diagnosis, a senior officer awarded Band 2 urgent medical priority from 1 August 2022. She accepted P could not share a bedroom with his younger sibling. Miss X was approved to bid for three bedroom properties rather than two bedroom properties.
18. In late October 2022 Miss X completed the annual renewal for her Housing Register application. She remained in Band 2 with the same priority date.
19. Miss X is frustrated that, since getting Band 2 priority, she has not been successful with any bids on Bexley Home Choice. The bidding history the Council sent in September 2023 shows Miss X has not been ranked above 30th position for a property since she was awarded Band 2 priority.
20. In late March 2023 the Council sent Miss X information about finding private rented accommodation. Miss X says she has already tried this option but landlords do not want her as a tenant because she works part-time, has a low income and claims Universal Credit. She says she cannot afford to pay the deposit and rent in advance required to secure a private rented tenancy.
21. In early May 2023 a team leader in the Allocations service replied to Miss X’s enquiry about whether it could nominate her directly to a Housing Association for an offer of accommodation. The team leader said Miss X was, in effect, asking if the Council could make her a direct offer. She explained that making a direct offer would be unfair to other applicants who had been waiting much longer than Miss X in Band 2. There was a limited supply of three bedroom properties and the Council could not say when more would become available. She encouraged Miss X to bid as widely as possible.
22. The Council has given Miss X information in the past about how to contact the Homelessness Prevention and Assessment team if she needs urgent assistance. Miss X could apply for homelessness assistance on the grounds that it is not reasonable for her to continue to occupy her current accommodation.
23. Miss X made a complaint to the Council. In its final response, the Council said there are hundreds of households in Bands 1 and 2 who need three bedroom homes. It encouraged Miss X to look for accommodation in the private rented sector. It said the situation was similar across London and the Southeast.
24. In response to our enquiries, the Council said the current average waiting time for a Band 2 applicant to be offered a three bedroom property is 4 years and 5 months. Miss X has been in Band 2 for just over 15 months at the time of writing this statement.

My analysis

25. Miss X and her children’s living arrangements are very unsatisfactory and they are clearly in housing need. The shared living arrangements, and the lack of space and privacy, have a serious impact on Miss X and her children. The lack of structure and routine is particularly challenging for Miss X’s eldest child because of his neurodivergent conditions.
26. The Council has recognised this by awarding Band 2 priority because they have an urgent medical need for housing. This gives them high priority under the Council’s allocations scheme.
27. Miss X is frustrated that she has not successfully bid for a property on Bexley Home Choice since she was awarded Band 2 priority in August 2022. However the time she has been waiting is not due to fault by the Council. It is the result of two factors:
• the short supply of three bedroom social housing;
• other applicants in the same, or a higher, priority band who have been waiting longer than her take priority when the bids are shortlisted.
28. The Council has explained its reasons for not making a direct offer of accommodation to Miss X. Direct offers are only made in exceptional circumstances. Making a direct offer would be unfair to other applicants who have been waiting longer than her with the same or greater priority. The bidding system provides a transparent and fair way to rank bids according to the applicant’s priority band and waiting time. We cannot criticise the Council’s decision not to make a direct offer when this is discretionary and it has explained its reasons for not making one.
29. Although Miss X and her family are in urgent housing need, I found no fault in the way the Council assessed her priority and ranked her bids.

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Final decision

30. As the Council has properly assessed Miss X’s priority in line with its published housing allocations scheme, there is no fault. The waiting time is due to the short supply of social housing and the high demand from other applicants with greater priority than Miss X.
31. I have completed the investigation with a finding of no fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman