Section: Allocations & Transfers

Completing Medical Assessment Delayed Transfer

Mrs A, her husband, and three children lived in a small council owned property with two bedrooms and two reception rooms, one of which was used as a bedroom. The property had a number of internal steps in addition to 23 external steps up to the front door.

Mrs A has osteoarthritis that affects her mobility and she struggled to get into the property, particularly with a buggy. She also found the stairs inside the flat difficult. The only toilet was upstairs and there was no room for a commode downstairs. Her husband has sleep apnoea, angina, depression, and a history of heart attacks. Mrs A was also receiving treatment for depression.

Mrs A had applied for a transfer to a larger property, and, in November 2004, she asked Croydon Council to award her additional priority due to her medical problems.

She complained that the Council took too long to complete the medical assessment, which delayed her application to transfer to larger accommodation with no stairs. She was living in severely overcrowded accommodation for the period of this delay.

The Ombudsman found that the Council took too long to complete the assessment, and, in particular, it took too long for the occupational therapist to visit Mrs A as part of the assessment. The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and recommended the Council:

pays compensation of £500 to Mrs A; and
reviews its procedures to ensure that medical assessments in respect of housing transfers are completed promptly.

Local Government Ombudsman Report No. 05/B/00679

Success of Choice Based Lettings Schemes Highlighted

Five years on from the launch of the Government's Choice Based Lettings (CBL) programme, new research highlights the positive impact of such schemes, which are a way of allocating social housing by giving tenants a greater say over where they live. Monitoring the Longer Term Impacts of Choice-based Lettings was carried out for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) by Heriot Watt University and the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), and was published at the recent 2006 Choice Based Lettings Conference in London.

The research, which builds on an earlier evaluation of CBL pilot schemes and assesses the longer-term impacts of the programme, explores local authority and RSL take-up, applicants' views, outcomes for different types of households, and the costs and benefits of the new system.

The study shows that participation in CBL schemes is growing. As of April 2005, more than 80% of local authorities had implemented, or had plans to implement, choice based lettings schemes.

Typically, the proportion of tenancies terminated within twelve months of a CBL scheme being introduced is cut by 10-12%. CBL is also establishing effective trends in better matching people to properties and improving satisfaction with letting outcomes.

Whilst CBL set-up costs can be substantial, particularly in relation to developing an appropriate IT system, this can be off-set by increased housing management efficiencies - particularly through increased tenancy sustainability and the reduction of re-lets. Additionally, set-up costs borne by individual landlords may be reduced where they are shared with others in a consortium scheme.

In-depth work in eleven case study areas appears to disprove concerns that CBL might concentrate certain types of households in particular types of area. In particular, the outcomes for homeless households are largely positive, revealing that under CBL they are more likely to be housed in higher demand areas. Most of the case study areas have seen some diffusion of minority ethnic settlement away from existing areas of concentration and towards 'non-traditional' areas. Such trends have been quite strong in northern cities.

Case study landlords have also recognised the need for active measures to protect the interests of groups that could be potentially disadvantaged by the "active" participation required under CBL, and this support was very much welcomed by applicants/tenants. Interviews with applicants revealed the ongoing need for personalised feedback to improve people's experience of the system and encourage those who have not been allocated a property to continue bidding.

Copies of the research report and summary are available from www.communities.gov.uk.

Case Law Update

The claimant had disabilities and lived in a split-level council flat, which caused her difficulties with mobility and stability. She requested a community care assessment to support her need for more suitable accommodation.

In April 2006, Lambeth Council agreed to revise an earlier assessment. It subsequently failed to do so, and the claimant sought Judicial Review. After issue of the claim, a further assessment was produced in August 2006.

The Court decided that the further assessment was unlawful as:
- It had not been drawn-up in accordance with relevant guidance;
- Relevant matters had been overlooked; and
- There had been procedural unfairness in relying on a matter not disclosed to the claimant.
Ireneschild v Lambeth LBC [2006] All ER (D), 8 September 2006, Admin Court. CO/6469/2006

Section: Allocations & Transfers

Completing Medical Assessment Delayed Transfer

Success of Choice Based Lettings Schemes Highlighted

Case Law Update

Housing Monthly Diary

Reporting on Sept.-October 2006

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