The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to complete remedial works to her property or rehouse her. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council made that decision to justify our investigation.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to rehouse her family despite identifying a category one hazard at their current property. She said it had failed to properly consider completing remedial works to an outbuilding at the property. She said the Council’s actions had affected her mental health and wants to be compensated for it housing them there.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.
My assessment
Mrs X has lived at her current property since June 2020. This is a private tenancy of a Council owned property. The property has three bedrooms and an outbuilding the family use for extra space. It accommodates two adults and seven children. Mrs X is on the Council’s housing register.
Following a previous investigation by the Ombudsman, the Council completed a housing health and safety rating system (HHRS) assessment of Mrs X’s current property.
The assessment identified a category one hazard at the property due to it being seriously overcrowded. The Council decided it was not viable to remedy the overcrowding by alterations to the property. Instead, it reviewed Mrs X’s priority on its housing register and increased her banding from Band C to Band B in line with its allocations policy. It emailed her on 22 November 2021 to notify her of that outcome and that it was backdating that status.
Mrs X was unhappy with the Council’s decision and complained. In its final response sent 3 May 2022, it said it had decided not to complete remedial work to the outbuilding because: The HHRS assessment said the outbuilding was too small to be converted into a bedroom and that it was not intended to form a habitable part of the property. It said converting the room would only provide additional study or play area, and not the additional sleeping space the family needed.
As Mrs X was currently living in a private tenancy, it was temporary accommodation, therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Council to spend large amounts of money upgrading it.
The Council confirmed that bidding for properties was the most successful way for Mrs X to be rehoused.
Although Mrs X is unhappy with the Council’s decision not to complete any remedial works to the outbuilding, we cannot question whether it was right or wrong simply because she disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
The Council has set out its reasons for not completing remedial works. In doing that, it has considered Mrs X’s housing needs and the requirement for an additional bedroom. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council made that decision therefore we will not investigate this complaint further.
Mrs X wants the Council to rehouse her. It has increased her housing banding based on the identified hazard of overcrowding. It has said that Mrs X needs to bid on suitable properties in order to be rehoused. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council has applied its housing allocations policy to warrant further investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman