Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to include Mr Y as a joint tenant in 2021. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement and we could not direct the Council to allocate alternative social housing to Mr Y.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained, on behalf of Mr Y, about the Council’s failure to include Mr Y’s name as joint tenant when allocating a property in 2021. Mr Y’s relationship with Ms Z has since broken down and Ms Z has asked him to leave, so he is now homeless. Ms X says the Council should allocate an equivalent property to Mr Z and his children because it has been a party to fraud.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a @council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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
• 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

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr Y and Ms Z, a married couple, jointly applied for social housing through the Council’s housing register. The Council arranged for them to view property A in February 2021, but Mr Y was not able to do so. Ms Z attended the viewing on her own and signed the tenancy agreement. Mr Y understood the couple had a joint tenancy and only discovered in 2024, following the breakdown of their relationship, that the tenancy was in Ms Z’s sole name. I understand she has asked him to leave the property.
8. In its complaint response, the Council explained that it followed its usual process, which was to agree a sole tenancy where only one of the joint applicants was present at the sign-up meeting. This was because it needed to verify each applicant’s identity and documents in their presence. It said it will have advised Ms Z that Mr Y could be added to the tenancy later. However, it was not appropriate to do that when the Council became aware the relationship had broken down. It said the family court would decide who should have the tenancy when finalising the divorce but, if Mr Y was homeless, he could seek support from its housing options team.

My assessment

9. We would usually expect people to complain to within 12 months of the events complained about. Ms X complained to us in October 2024 about events in 2021. However, she said Mr Y only had notice of the problem during 2024, so I have exercised discretion to consider the complaint.
10. The Council followed its policy, which is to agree a sole tenancy when only one of two joint applicants are present at the sign-up, and it has explained the rationale for that policy. There is insufficient evidence of fault in its actions at that time to justify investigating that part of the complaint further.
11. The Council says it would have explained to Ms Z that Mr Y could be added later. Whether or not it did so, and it is unlikely we could establish this given the lapse of time, Ms Z appears not to have shared that information with Mr Y. Although it would have been good practice to put that advice in writing, the failure to do so would not amount to fault. In any case, it appears Mr X did not ask to see the tenancy agreement or take any steps to check it had been set up correctly in 2021. Therefore, it is unlikely we would find fault if we investigated further. In addition, we could not achieve the outcome Ms X and Mr Y want, which is for the Council to offer Mr Y alternative social housing.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement, and we could not achieve the outcome sought.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman