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Haringey Council (201916353)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 201916353

Haringey Council

25 February 2021


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this. 

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of repair in her temporary accommodation to the lift and the heating and hot water system.
  2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s requests to change her housing status on the local authority’s choice based letting scheme.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaints, as set out above, are not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident moved into temporary accommodation in April 2017. The property is a one bedroom flat on the fourth floor of the building.
  2. The resident escalated several formal complaints about repairs to the heating and hot water system and the lift. These were from April 2019 to April 2020.  She explained the impact of these repairs on her and her family. The landlord progressed these matters under its internal complaint procedure and offered a response which included an acknowledgment of service failure and redress.
  3. The resident also complained that she found the property unsuitable, due to these repairs and her medical needs. The resident was on the transfer list as priority 2 (homeless band B). She explained that she was vulnerable and complained about the landlord’s decision in not changing her status. The landlord did not agree to adjust the resident’s housing status as it found that the repair issues did not affect the suitability of the property. It said that she needed to offer medical evidence as part of the housing application process. After a medical assessment took place, in April 2020, the landlord decided not to award medical priority as it deemed her current accommodation suitable. The next step in the process for the resident was for the housing registration team to review the medical assessment.
  4. The landlord’s role in re-housing homeless residents falls within its responsibility as a local authority to discharge its statutory duty under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. This is to prevent homelessness and aid those who are threatened with or actually are homeless. Complaints about a landlord’s actions under this capacity, including the management of the temporary accommodation, fall within the jurisdiction of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
  5. The Ombudsman acknowledges that the resident has explained the impact that the repairs to the heating and hot water system had on her; she expressed that her children were living in cold temperatures and could not bathe. She also explained that she was disabled and relied on the lift for mobility, therefore she experienced anxiety due to the repairs.  The resident ultimately did not find that the property she was placed in was suitable. The Housing Ombudsman previously highlighted the role of the LGSCO to the resident regarding the suitability of the property and her banding status. It is now found that the complaint the resident has raised about the overall management of the temporary accommodation, including the response to reports of repairs within it, is not within the Housing Ombudsman jurisdiction.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 39 (m) of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator or complaint-handling body. 
  2. The resident’s complaint was about the landlord’s response to her request to change her housing status and her reports of repairs in the temporary accommodation. Complaints about the local authority’s decision in respect of banding or priority on the housing register and complaints about the management of temporary accommodation fall within the remit of the LGSCO. This is because the landlord allocates the relevant priority banding of residents and grants accommodation under its statutory obligation to prevent homelessness under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. The landlord’s actions are therefore taken in its capacity as a local authority, which is subject to the LGSCO’s jurisdiction.