Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about problems at Mr X’s home and his wish to move. The law prevents us considering the Council’s management of its social housing. There is not enough evidence that Mr X not getting an offer of larger accommodation is due to any fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s actions concerning disrepair in his home and his application to move home. He says this means he and his family remain living in damp, mouldy and overcrowded conditions.

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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. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
3. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), 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. (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 the complainant and the Council’s housing allocations policy.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The condition of Mr X’s home

7. Mr X is a Council tenant. He says the Council has not dealt effectively with damp and mould in his home. This point concerns the Council’s management of its social housing. The law prevents us considering this, as paragraph 2 above explained.
8. The Council told Mr X that the Housing Ombudsman Service might be able to consider a complaint about this point. We are the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, a separate organisation, and we cannot consider this matter.

Mr X’s application for larger social housing

9. Mr X applied to the Council’s housing register for a larger social housing property to resolve the overcrowding in his current home. He is dissatisfied the Council has not yet offered him a larger property.
10. The Council prioritises applications by awarding points. From what the Council has described, and from reading the Council’s housing allocation scheme, I see no evidence suggesting Mr X’s application has too few points for his circumstances. If Mr X believes he should have more points, he can ask the Council to review his application.
11. Mr X’s lack of success so far in getting a larger property seems to be because demand for social housing in Camden significantly outstrips supply, not because of fault by the Council. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council disadvantaging Mr X here.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We cannot investigate the Council’s management of its social housing. There is not enough evidence that Mr X not getting an offer of larger accommodation is due to any fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman