Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision she does not qualify for its housing register because it is reasonable for her to ask for a review of that decision. We will not investigate its handling of her homelessness decision because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s:
• decision she did not qualify for its housing register;
• lack of support and poor advice when dealing with her homelessness application; and
• its failure to respond to her complaints.
2. Ms X said the Council’s failings caused her significant distress and the poor advice caused her son to get into debt.

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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
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Housing register

6. Ms X said she first applied to join the Council’s housing register in June 2023. The Council decided she did not qualify and explained its reasons. It said she may qualify if she was seeking sheltered accommodation and set out the further information she would need to provide if she wanted to pursue that. It sent its decision to the address on her application, but Ms X did not receive it as she had moved to a new address.
7. In late February 2024, Ms X asked for an update. The Council explained that, because she had changed her address, she would need to complete a fresh application, which she did. The Council decided she did not qualify to join its housing register because she had not lived in its area long enough. It also asked for information about the proceeds of a house she previously owned.
8. On 2 June Ms X queried the decision. She said she had only moved out of the Council’s area on the advice of the homelessness officer. She provided some general information about the property she had previously owned but no details of the proceeds she received and whether she still had the money. The Council said a manager would review her case and, after doing so, it wrote to her to explain she would not qualify for its housing register if she had capital over £32,000. It asked her to provide bank statements to confirm her savings. It is unclear whether she did so, as she had complained to us by then.
9. Ms X has the right to ask of a review of the Council’s decision she does not qualify for its housing register, and it is reasonable for her to use that right. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint further. In order for the Council to carry out the review, Ms X needs to provide it with the evidence it has asked for.

Homelessness

10. Ms X made a homelessness application in 2023. Mrs X says:
• she told the Council she could not afford the rent for her current tenancy and the Council advised her to end the tenancy and live in her son’s property whilst waiting for alternative accommodation, which would take about a year;
• her son only agreed to let her stay under duress, and she made it clear to the Council this was for six months only;
• as a result of her moving to her son’s property, her son lost rental income, which caused him to go into debt, and he had to start action to evict her, which meant she had to make a second homelessness application.
11. Council records indicate:
• Ms X told it she had not paid her rent in full because her income had reduced and her landlord had said he would issue a section 21 notice requiring her to leave. The Council gave her advice about the eviction process;
• Ms X also said her son was moving for work and she could stay in his home, but she was worried this might mean she could not access social housing in this Council’s area in future. The Council gave advice about its “Local Connection” criteria, which it confirmed by email;
• When asked how long she could stay at her son’s house, Ms X said “for about a year” and the Council explained it would view this as resolving the threat of homelessness, but this was separate to her housing register application.
12. There is a conflict of evidence in relation to the information Ms X said she gave the Council and the advice the Council gave her. Since the Council does not record telephone conversations, it is unlikely we could resolve this conflict so further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
13. Based on the written record of the telephone calls, the Council gave the advice we would expect, and much of this was confirmed by email after the calls. It also sent written decisions and a personalised housing plan, which it kept under review. On this basis, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the support the Council gave Ms X to justify our involvement, so we will not investigate further.
14. Ms X made a second homelessness application in 2024. The Council sent an email confirming it had set up an appointment to carry out an assessment and set out the documents she needed to provide. The Council said Ms X did not provide any documents, so it did not progress the application. Again, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement so we will not investigate further.

Complaints handling

15. Ms X said the Council failed to respond to her complaints in 2023 and 2024.
16. We do not investigate complaints about complaints handling if we are not investigating other parts of the complaint.
17. However, the Council provided a copy of its complaint response dated August 2023 and Ms X provided complaint responses sent in May and June 2024. These show the Council address the concerns Ms X raised. There is therefore insufficient evidence of fault to warrant further investigation.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to provide the information needed for the Council to review its housing register decision. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council handled the homelessness application to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman