The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register because she does not meet the residency rules. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, disagrees with the Council’s decision that she cannot join the housing register because she does not meet the residency rules. She says she has lived in the borough for most of her life and cannot afford to rent privately.
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 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 Ms X and the Council. I also considered the allocations policy and our Assessment Code. I invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The rules say a person can join the housing register if, at the date of application, they have lived in the borough continuously for the last six years.
Ms X applied to the join the housing register in January 2021. The Council rejected the application because she had lived in another borough for six months in 2018.
Ms X appealed. The Council confirmed its decision. It explained it had discharged its homelessness duty to her by finding her a home in Harlow. Then, when Ms X left after three months, it helped her to find a home in Dagenham to prevent homelessness. Ms X lived in that property for six months.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. When Ms X applied to join the housing register in 2021 she had not lived in the borough continuously for six years and none of the exceptions to the rules apply. I appreciate Ms X has lived in the borough for most of her life but the Council’s decision is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation. We are not an appeal body and we cannot ask the Council to let someone join the register when that would be contrary to the policy.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman