Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s housing register decision because there is insufficient evidence of fault in its decision-making process to justify this.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to agree he needed two bedrooms, despite him having disabilities and his child staying with him four nights per week.

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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 or continue 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 Mr X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

5. The Council accepted Mr X’s application to its housing register. It placed him in priority band B and said he needed a property with one bedroom.
6. Mr X said he needed two bedrooms because his child stays overnight with him four nights each week and they need their own separate spaces as a result of Mr X’s disabilities. Mr X also said another relative sometimes needs to stay to support him with his mental health.
7. The Council considered his request, but decided he did not meet the criteria for two bedrooms and there were no exceptional circumstances to justify it making an exception to the criteria set out in its allocations scheme.
8. Mr X asked for a review of that decision in early October 2024 and the Council issued a review decision in November 2024. It upheld the original decision that Mr X was not entitled to two bedrooms. In its review decision letter, the Council set out the issues it had considered and the relevant part of its allocations scheme. It explained the child lives with their mother, who is their main carer, in a home of adequate size. It said there were no exceptional circumstances to justify Mr X needing two bedrooms.

My assessment

9. We are not an appeal body. It is not our role to say whether the Council’s decisions were correct. Unless there is evidence of fault in its decision-making process, we cannot comment on the decision reached.
10. It is clear from the review decision that the Council considered all relevant factors, including its allocations scheme. It has explained the reasons for its decision and the decision was made without undue delay. There is therefore insufficient evidence of fault in the decision-making process to justify us investigating further.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman