Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s priority on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, says the Council is leaving her to die in an unsuitable property. She wants the Council to place her in the gold band on the housing register and she wants to be rehoused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mrs X lives in a Housing Association property. The property needs repairs and the Council identified that there are category two hazards which need to be rectified. The Housing Association offered to do the repairs, which would take about three weeks, but says Mrs X would not allow access. I have seen an email, from July 2024, in which the Housing Association offers to decant Mrs X for a few weeks so it can complete the repairs. Mrs X has not agreed to the decant.
5. Mrs X is on the housing register. She was in the silver band although, since making her complaint, she has moved into the gold band. Mrs X wanted the Council to take more action because she says the property is unsuitable.
6. The Council said it could only offer the gold band for a decant if a landlord submits notification of a decant; Mrs X’s Housing Association has not done this although Mrs X has moved into gold for other reasons.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The allocations policy says the Council will place someone in the emergency band if this is recommended by Environmental Health. Environmental Health inspected the property but did not recommend an emergency move. The policy says an applicant qualifies for the gold band if there is a category one hazard that cannot be repaired in six months. Again, this does not apply because there is a category two hazard which the Housing Association is willing to repair. I have seen an Occupation Therapy report which says moving would be the best option due to the disrepair but, again, this did not meet the qualifying conditions for gold.
8. Mrs X says the property is unsuitable but, there is nothing to suggest fault by the Council in relation to the housing register because the Housing Association has offered to do the repairs.
9. We are not an appeal body and we have no power to tell the Council it must rehouse Mrs X.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman