London Borough of Barnet · Case 202501823 · 19 December 2025
London Borough of Barnet — case 202501823
The Ombudsman did not investigate the complaint about the landlord's response to the resident's request to be rehoused on medical grounds, as housing allocations and banding are functions of the council acting as a local authority rather than as a landlord, and the resident was housed under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. The matter falls within the jurisdiction of the LGSCO.
Findings by complaint head
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Response to request to be rehoused on medical grounds
Outside jurisdictionThe Ombudsman did not investigate the complaint because housing allocations, bidding, banding and the housing register are functions administered by the council acting as a local authority, not as a landlord. The resident was also housed under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, placing the matter within the jurisdiction of the LGSCO.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202501823 Decision type Jurisdiction Landlord London Borough of Barnet Landlord type Local Authority / ALMO or TMO Occupancy Other Date 19 December 2025 Background 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 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 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) 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 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). 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.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.