Summary: Mrs B complains the Council delayed in making its decision on her homelessness application. The Ombudsman finds there were several faults by the Council. As well as a long delay in making a decision on the homelessness application, there was delay in offering temporary accommodation once the Council accepted it owed Mrs B the main homelessness duty. These delays were fault. There was also fault in the Council’s record keeping and in its handling of a reported rodent infestation in interim accommodation. These faults led to injustice for Mrs B and her two young children, which the Council has agreed to remedy.

Summary: The Council was at fault for incorrectly interpreting information to suspend Mr D from its housing register. The Ombudsman recommends the Council allocates Mr D the first available property within his priority band to remedy him missing out on a previous suitable property because of its error. The Council should also apologise to Mr D for causing avoidable frustration and confusion by not providing clear information to him. There was no fault in how the Council decided to suspend Mr D from the housing register for unacceptable behaviour on another occasion.

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not provide him with a building certificate for a property adjacent to one Mr X is trying to sell. This complaint relates to the Council’s management of its housing stock and is outside our legal remit.

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about work the Council has carried out to its property next door to his home. Complaints relating to the Council’s management of its housing stock are outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to the complainant’s flat while it was rented to a tenant. This is because the Ombudsman does not determine claims for damage and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s banding on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s assessment of his housing application. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s assessment of his housing need.

Summary: The Council repeatedly sent correspondence to Mr X about a property he owned when he had notified it to send correspondence to the managing agents he had instructed to look after the property. The Council also incorrectly disclosed his name and address to his tenant. The Council was at fault and it has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 to reflect his time and trouble and for the frustration caused.

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about bed bugs because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the suitability of the temporary accommodation the Council offered Mrs Q. This is because she had a right of appeal to the County Court.

Summary: There is no fault in the Council’s decision to suspend Mrs X’s housing application.

Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to allocate her a suitable property after it decanted her several years ago from her Council home. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Miss X is a council tenant who was moved to a temporary property under a decant scheme. This falls within the remit of the Housing Ombudsman service and is outside our jurisdiction.

Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s decision not to accept her onto its Housing Register following a review of her application. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: Miss B complains the Council did not consider properly her application to the housing register. She says it disregarded her medical evidence. The Council did not say why it would not accept Miss B’s explanations of why the address on the GP’s letter was different to her home address. The Council will, within the next six weeks, apologise to Miss B and consider a fresh application from her.

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a few weeks when the complainant had to pay rent on two homes. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.