London Borough of Barnet (202501823)

Background

1. The resident has asked the landlord to rehouse her on medical grounds and to place her in a higher bidding band. The property is on the 6th floor and there is a long walk to the lifts. The landlord has explained that it considers the resident’s current property to be suitable for her needs which means that she does not meet the criteria for higher priority banding. The resident had limited mobility and a cancer diagnosis, the landlord is aware of this.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s request to be rehoused on medical grounds.

What we have not looked at

3. The resident has also complained to the landlord about repairs in the property and the presence of pests. The resident has confirmed that these matters are now resolved and are not part of her escalation to us. As a result, we have not investigated these elements further.

Our decision (determination)

4. We have not investigated the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s response to the resident’s request to be rehoused on medical grounds.

Reasons

5. We can only investigate complaints about councils where they are acting as the landlord under a licence, lease or a social housing tenancy. In this case, the council was not acting in this capacity because housing allocations, bidding, banding, and the housing register are functions that are administered by councils acting in the capacity of a local authority. As such, we have no power to investigate the complaint about the resident’s request to be rehoused on medical grounds. The resident may be able to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
6. Further, the resident is being housed under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. This means her complaint is not within our jurisdiction to consider. Complaints about applications for assistance under the homelessness legislation also fall within the jurisdiction of the LGSCO.