The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complained he was formally short-listed as first for a social housing property, but it was let to someone else. Mr X said it affected his mental health. He said it caused him uncertainty and unnecessary distress, and cost him time and trouble. We do not find the Council at fault.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr X, complained he was formally short-listed as first for a social housing property, but it was let to someone else.
Mr X said it affected his mental health. He said it caused him uncertainty and unnecessary distress, and cost him time and trouble.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended) The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as housing associations. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X and the Council. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
I considered the Council’s nomination agreement with the housing association.
What I found
What should have happened Some council properties are provided by housing associations. In these cases, there is usually a nomination agreement between the council and the housing association which sets out each party’s roles and responsibilities.
Housing associations will advertise available properties on the council’s housing website. Housing associations can withdraw a property if there is a good reason. This could be because the property needs repairs, is not ready for let, or is needed for an emergency case on their own internal list.
What happened Mr X is on the Council’s housing list. In December 2021, he bid on a housing association property advertised on the Council’s housing website. The Council told him he was first on the shortlist for the property, and the housing association would contact him about it directly.
In January 2022, the housing association called Mr X about another property. He asked about the property he had been shortlisted for. The housing association told him it had rented that property in December to someone else.
Mr X called the Council. The Council told him that the housing association had given the property to someone on its internal list.
Mr X complained to the Council.
In its complaint response, the Council explained that a housing association can withdraw a property if it is not ready to be let, has significant repair issues, or is needed for an emergency case on the housing association’s internal list.
The Council said the housing association withdrew the property for an emergency transfer case from the housing association’s internal list. It said it was not able to honour the original shortlisting because the Council does not own the property.
The Council said usually a housing association would request a property is withdrawn before the Council’s bidding cycle goes live, to avoid something like this happening. The Council said it was unfortunate that the housing association withdrew the property after the Council had advertised the property.
The Council said it had met with the housing association to make sure it was aware of the importance of withdrawing properties before the bidding cycle goes live, to avoid something like this happening again.
Mr X then complained to the Ombudsman.
Analysis Mr X complains he was formally short-listed as first for the property, but it was let to someone else.
Housing associations are not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, so I cannot investigate the housing association’s actions (see paragraph six). I can only consider the Council’s actions.
The property is a housing association property. It is therefore the housing association’s decision whether or not the property is available. The housing association was within its rights to withdraw the property.
Mr X says he did not hear from the Council or the housing association between the offer letter in December and the housing association’s call to him in January about the other property.
The Council says when a housing association withdraws a property during the bidding cycle, it expects the housing association to contact the top five bidders to explain what happened. The Council says it is not able to check that the housing association did this because the housing association suffered a major cyber-attack, meaning it cannot access its records at this time. In any event, I cannot investigate the housing association’s actions.
I have seen no evidence that the Council knew the housing association had withdrawn the property. Council records show it was not aware the property had been withdrawn until Mr X told the Council about it. For this reason, I cannot find the Council at fault.
I have considered the nomination agreement between the Council and the housing association. This does not say the housing association cannot use the property for one of its own emergency cases.
Mr X says he feels fobbed off because the Council gave him different answers. He says the Council first told him the housing association could not withdraw a property once someone had been shortlisted for it. Then, the Council said the housing association can withdraw a property and the Council cannot do anything about it.
While I appreciate that the Council may have given Mr X differing information, this is not fault.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation and I do not uphold Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no fault.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman