The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: There was fault by the Council. The Council wrongly told Mrs X that she was not able to join the housing register. The Council has remedied its error by backdating her housing application and making a payment to her towards her time and trouble.
The complaint
The complainant, who I shall call Mrs X, complains the Council wrongly informed her she was not able to join the housing register after she asked for help completing the application.
Mrs X says that the delay in being able to apply for social housing has affected her health.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I read the papers submitted by Mrs X.
I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
Mrs X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Key facts Mrs X made an application to join the Council’s housing register in February 2020. The Council wrote to her on 24 March 2020 with a decision on her housing application. It said that Mrs X was not qualified to join the housing register as she was living in suitable accommodation and did not have a need for re-housing. The Council also said that as Mrs X had rent arrears she would not be able to join the housing register. The decision letter explained that Mrs X had a right to a review of the decision.
Mrs X asked for a review of the decision in July 2020 and in the letter she explained that she had now paid her rent arrears. The report of the review carried out in October 2020 said that: A Citizens Advice Bureau budget in May 2020 showed the property was affordable.
Her Discretionary Housing Payment claim was unsuccessful due to sufficient income in September 2020.
Mrs X was awarded £341pcm due to the limited capability for work element within a Universal Credit claim in September 2020.
Regardless of rent arrears, Mrs X did not have a housing need, as her property was affordable.
Mrs X applied again to join the housing register, after making a complaint. The Council sent her a letter on 23 March 2021 to say that it had assessed Mrs X‘s eligibility for the Housing Register and confirmed that she qualified for social housing on medical grounds. Mrs X’s application was placed in the low band and the letter included a link to the Council’s website to register her application. The letter told Mrs X she had a right to a review of this decision.
In April 2021 Mrs X told the Council she had had difficulties submitting her application online. In response, a housing allocations officer wrongly told her that she did not qualify to join the Housing Register.
In February 2022 Mrs X made a formal complaint to the Council. The Council said ‘this complaint was not investigated as there was an administrative error with downloading the files’. The Council said that ‘following collating the data for the Ombudsman, we have realised our error and have contacted Mrs X to apologise and complete an application to the Housing Register. The application will be backdated to March 2021 when Mrs X qualified to join the Register’.
After I made enquiries on the complaint, the Council wrote to Mrs X to apologise. The Council paid Mrs X £250 towards her time and trouble and has confirmed her housing application is now active. The Council has said that Mrs X has not missed out on any offers of accommodation.
My analysis During the Ombudsman’s investigation the Council accepted it was at fault and backdated Mrs X’s housing application to March 2020. The Council also apologised and paid £250 towards Mrs X’s time and trouble in pursing the complaint.
I consider that the Council’s offer to backdate Mrs X’s housing application, along with the payment remedies the injustice caused to her by the Council’s error. Mrs X says that she believes others who applied after her have received offers of housing. I understand her view, but offers of housing are made according to the circumstances of each applicant not just according to the date they applied. The Council has confirmed that Mrs X has not missed out on any housing offers and so I consider the remedy the Council agreed to is reasonable.
Agreed action
The Council has backdated Mrs X’s housing application until March 2020.
The Council has apologised and paid Mrs X £250.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint it upheld, as there was fault by the Council. The Council has taken action to remedy the injustice to Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman