Summary: The Council delayed assessing Mrs X’s housing application and then failed to clearly tell her what evidence it needed to complete its assessment, which led to it closing her application. The Council has agreed to apologise, assess Mrs X’s application and backdate her registration date. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council took too long to assess her housing application and then closed her application because she had not provided copies of her bank statements which it had not clearly asked her to provide.
2. Mrs X says that as a result of the Council’s failings, she remains living in accommodation which is unsuitable for her medical and mobility needs.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• considered the documents the Council has provided; and
• given the Council and the complainant the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

Back to top

What I found

6. Mrs X lives in a three-bedroom property with her husband and four children. In April 2023, she applied to join the Council’s housing register.
7. The Council wrote to Mrs X about her application in August. It said that she needed to provide supporting medical evidence and that both Mrs X and her husband would need to have a mobility assessment. The Council also asked Mrs X to provide, “All financial records from the past three months relating to income and savings, to help determine qualification to join the Scheme.”
8. The next day, Mrs X provided letters from their GP, the completed mobility referral forms and proof of the benefits she received.
9. In September, the Council wrote to Mrs X to tell her that it had closed her application because she had not provided the requested financial information.
10. Mrs X then made a formal complaint to the Council. She said that following the request for proof of her income and savings, she had provided evidence of the benefits she received, which was her only income, and she did not have any savings. She said that she had spoken to an advisor at the Council who had explained that her application had been closed because she had not provided copies of her bank statements. Mrs X complained that the Council’s letter was not clear. She said that if she had been asked to provide copies of her bank statements, she would have done so.
11. In the Council’s response to Mrs X’s complaint, it said that proof of benefit was not sufficient evidence and it had closed her application because she had not provided the requested financial records. It advised Mrs X to submit a new housing application.
12. Mrs X has since submitted another housing application, with supporting medical evidence and mobility referral forms. When the draft version of this statement was issued, the application had not yet been assessed and the mobility assessments had not yet been carried out.

Analysis

13. We expect councils to assess applications within eight weeks. Mrs X applied on 30 April 2023. The Council commenced its assessment on 22 August, around 16 weeks later. This delay was fault.
14. The letter the Council sent to Mrs X on 22 August was not clear. It did not specify exactly what information it required. Considering Mrs X promptly provided evidence in response to the Council’s request, I consider it was unreasonable for the Council to close Mrs X’s application without telling her that the evidence she had provided was not sufficient. This was fault.
15. The Council’s responses to Mrs X’s complaint were unhelpful. They did not address Mrs X’s specific complaint about the clarity of the information request.
16. To remedy Mrs X’s injustice, I consider the Council should assess her application and if Mrs X qualifies to join the register, it should backdate her registration and award dates. I do not consider it likely that Mrs X has missed out on any properties as a result of the failings identified.

Back to top

Agreed action

17. The Council has agreed to take the following actions:
• Write to Mrs X clearly explaining what information it needs to complete its assessment of her housing application. It will take this action within two weeks of my final decision.
• Complete the mobility assessments within four weeks of my final decision.
• Apologise for the failings identified in this case within four weeks of my final decision. The Council will consider our guidance on remedies when making the apology.
• Assess the outcome of the mobility assessments and determine if Mrs X qualifies to join the housing register within six weeks of my final decision. If she does qualify, the Council will backdate her registration and award date to 25 June 2023, eight weeks after she originally applied.
• Review the wording of its letter template for requesting financial records to ensure it clearly explains the evidence it needs to see. It will take this action within eight weeks of my final decision.
18. I have not made any service improvement recommendations relating to the delay in assessing the application. This is because the Council has agreed to make service improvements following our investigation of recent similar complaints.
19. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

20. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs X’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman