A councillor who has faced claims that she does not live in the city is now subject to a formal standards complaint, it is understood.

A complaint was filed with Brighton and Hove City Council’s audit and standards committee about an unnamed councillor “regarding their place of residence” during the local election in May last year.

Although the councillor subject to the complaint is anonymised, it is understood to refer to Councillor Chandni Mistry.

Cllr Mistry, who represents Queen’s Park ward on the city council, was suspended from the Labour Party amid allegations that she lives in Leicester.

She has told The Argus that she lives “in the heart of the city”, but has refused to meet with a reporter from this newspaper or provide unredacted proof of her place of residence.

A second complaint alleges that another unnamed councillor has “failed to act with integrity and honesty and/or failing to act lawfully by providing a false place of residence”.

It also alleges that the councillor, understood to be Bharti Gajjar, has failed to respond to emails about issues in her Kemptown ward.

Cllr Gajjar was also suspended from the Labour Party over allegations regarding her residence. It is understood that she does have an address in Brighton, but has claimed that she lives in other parts of the country when applying to be a candidate in constituencies elsewhere in the country.

Last month, The Argus discovered a campaign website by Cllr Gajjar in a bid to become the Labour candidate for Morecambe and Lunesdale.

Morecambe, in Lancashire, is more than 250 miles away from Brighton.

In a post on the website, Cllr Gajjar said that the area is “where I live and have even studied”.

Both councillors sit as independents on the city council after being suspended from the Labour Party.

A police spokesman told The Argus that an investigation into election malpractice is “still ongoing”.

Cllr Mistry said that she has “been in contact with the police, Action Fraud and electoral service in Brighton and Hove”.

“I believe, as I have also been advised, that there is no proven electoral fraud,” she said.