Summary: We cannot investigate the Council’s decision to take possession of a property. That is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints where the Council is acting as a social landlord. We also will not investigate Mr X’s complaint he was not eligible to join the housing register. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to take possession of a property he is currently living in with his siblings. He said they had lived in the property since his parents passed away. He wants the Council to pass the social housing tenancy onto him and his siblings.
2. He also complained about the Council’s decision he was not eligible to join the housing register and how that has affected the Council’s decision to take possession of his current property. He said it had incorrectly included money he had borrowed. He is unhappy the Council has not allowed the inclusion of his siblings on the application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
6. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council would not allow him to take over the tenancy of his late parents’ home. That is because the law says we cannot investigate complaints where the Council is acting as a social landlord. These complaints are dealt with by the Housing Ombudsman Service. In addition, the matter has been considered by the Court. We cannot consider matters that have been considered by the court.
10. We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint he is not eligible to join the Council’s housing register. The Council has assessed Mr X’s application in line with its allocations policy. This states that siblings are expected to make their own housing application unless there are extenuating circumstances. Therefore, the Council assessed Mr X’s application based on his need for a two bedroomed property. It said that Mr X and his partner earnt more than its household income limit, he was not eligible to join the register.
11. Although Mr X disagrees with this decision, the Council has considered all available evidence and applied its policy. Therefore, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate complaints about succession of social housing tenancy. We also will not investigate his complaint about the Council’s decision he is not eligible to join the housing register. That is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman