Decisions and Reviews
Right of Review
North Yorkshire Home Choice (NYHC) operates a two-stage review process which applies to decisions made by Partner Landlords assessing NYHC housing applications.
An applicant has the right to request a review of a decision regarding:
- whether they are eligible for an allocation of accommodation
- whether they are a qualifying person
- how their case was assessed in considering whether to allocate accommodation to them
The category of decisions in the third bullet above is likely to include decisions about the:
- type of property for which an applicant will be considered
- extent of the applicant's household to be housed with them
- applicant's medical condition and welfare needs
- factors considered to determine the applicant's reasonable preference
- factors considered to determine if the applicant has additional preference on the grounds of urgent housing needs
- applicant's priority including their financial needs, behaviour and local connection
Stage 1
Applicants should request a review in writing within 21 days of the date of the original decision letter, clearly stating the reason for the request and providing relevant information in support of the review.
An advocate may act on an applicant’s behalf with their written consent.
The review will be carried out by a senior officer of the partner landlord administering the housing application, who will have had no previous involvement in the original assessment or decision made and who will send you a letter with the review outcome.
Where there is an identified or perceived conflict of interest between the applicant and the partner landlord administering the application, an alternative partner landlord may be asked to process the review on their behalf in order to ensure fairness and impartiality. Where identified the transfer of the stage 1 review would be agreed by all parties.
Stage 2
A stage 2 right of review will be considered by two independent officers of the NYHC Partnership who have not been involved with either the assessment of the housing application or stage 1 review.
Applicants or their appointed advocate will receive a written acknowledgement that their request has been received. The letter will confirm the reason for the request and will provide the applicant or their advocate 14 days to submit any relevant information they wish to be considered since the original review was made.
The review will be considered based on the NYHC Common Allocations Policy, any legal requirements and all relevant information, including any recent information provided by the applicant or their advocate since the original decision was made.
A stage 2 review is a paper-based hearing but at the reviewing officer’s discretion may include a conversation or meeting with the applicant.
The reviewing officers will provide a written outcome and recommendation report within 56 days of the date of the applicant’s written request to the administering Partner Landlord who made the original decision. The review panel reserve the right to extend the time required to provide their report and where this is necessary applicants will be notified in writing and provided with the reason.
The Partner Landlord will have 7 days to consider the outcome and recommendation report and notify the applicant of their decision and action they intend to take.
Applicants will receive a copy of the reviewing officers report.
There is no right to appeal to the county court against the review decision, and any further challenge must be pursued by judicial review.
If an applicant is dissatisfied with how their case has been dealt with, they can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Monitoring
All requests and outcomes of stage 2 reviews are reported and monitored quarterly by the NYHC Partnership Board.
Non-Statutory complaints
Please note that the North Yorkshire Home Choice right of review process is for statutory complaints. Applicants who may have a general complaint and who wish to express their dissatisfaction at the level of service received, such as where calls or emails remain unanswered, should contact the partner landlord administering their housing application who will investigate using their own published complaints process.
Personal Data
If you want to know more about your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 you can go to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public
If you are unhappy with the way your personal data is handled you can contact the independent Information commissioner at https://ico.org.uk
Other sources of information may be found on the following websites
Which ombudsman for social housing complaints? - Housing Ombudsman (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)
How to Complain - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman