Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to rehouse her because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s failure to rehouse her family, despite letters of support from social workers. She also says the Council have not responded to letters and emails from her.
2. Ms X says that, as a result of the Council's lack of support, her family have lived in unsuitable housing for four years. She says her mental health has been significantly affected by this and her son has been racially abused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(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 Ms X and the Council’s complaint response.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council accepted Ms X’s application to its housing register and placed her in band 1, which is the highest priority band. However, despite regularly bidding for houses, Ms X has not been rehoused. In May 2024, the Council said 135 three bedroom properties had become available in the previous year but there were 1898 households waiting for a three bedroom home. In its complaint response, it said there were 246 other households in band 1 waiting for a similar home. It advised Ms X to consider a mutual exchange with her current social landlord and/or private rented accommodation. It also suggested she refer any concerns about anti-social behaviour to the neighbourhood coordinator and said she could also report incidents to the police.
7. The demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. To manage the demand, every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. Most councils operate a housing register, which records the details of those waiting for housing. All housing allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
8. The Council has placed Ms X’s application in band 1, which is the highest priority band. Therefore, it is unlikely we would find fault with its decision about her priority. The Council has acknowledged Ms X is bidding regularly and has advised her to continue doing so, which is appropriate. However, the law says it can only allocate housing in line with its published scheme, which means other households in band 1 who have been waiting longer will likely be rehoused earlier than Ms X.
9. We will not investigate further because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify doing so. Further, we could not achieve the outcome Ms X wants, which is to be urgently rehoused.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman