Summary: The Council delayed reviewing its decision to close Mrs B’s housing application and delayed responding to her complaints about it. As a result, Mrs B remained living in temporary accommodation for longer than necessary. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mrs B and to take action to prevent similar failings in future.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains that the Council wrongly closed her housing application and instead of re-opening it, the Council insisted she complete a new housing application which affected her housing priority.
2. Mrs B also complains about the temporary accommodation the Council provided. She says the accommodation was in poor condition and was too small.
3. As a result of the Council’s failings, Mrs B says she was not able to bid on properties after March 2022 and her housing priority reduced. She says the accommodation was overcrowded, she was put to time and trouble contacting the Council about disrepair and she had to pay to decorate and carpet the property herself.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council has provided; and
• given the Council and the complainant the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

The Council’s housing allocations schemes

8. The scheme introduced in January 2023 places applicants in a priority band from Band A (highest priority) to Band D (lowest priority). It says Band A will be awarded where the applicant is owed a duty under part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, due to being not intentionally homeless and having a priority need for accommodation.
9. The previous scheme awarded Band 2 in the same circumstances. It placed applicants in a priority band from Band 1 (highest priority) to Band 4 (lowest priority).
10. In both schemes, the award date is the date on which a higher priority band applies. It is used to prioritise between applications within the same band.

Homelessness

11. If a council is satisfied someone is eligible, homeless, in priority need and unintentionally homeless, it will owe them the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
12. Under the main housing duty, housing authorities must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for the applicant and their household until the duty is brought to an end, usually through the offer of a settled home. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17)
13. Councils have to keep the housing conditions in their area under review with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken by them under the Household Health and Safety Ratings System legislation (HHSRS). When determining the suitability of accommodation secured under the homelessness legislation, councils should, as a minimum, ensure that all accommodation is free of category one hazards. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17)

Background and key events

14. When Mrs B was homeless in 2019, the Council placed her in temporary accommodation with her two children. Mrs B also joined the Council’s housing register.
15. Mrs B moved to alternative temporary accommodation in January 2022.
16. In February, Mrs B complained about the accommodation. In particular, she complained about the lack of carpets, the heating, and that the gas fire was not working.
17. In March, the Council told Mrs B that it had closed her housing application because she had a housing related debt which she had not arranged to pay. It said that her application would be reconsidered if she paid the debt in full or arranged a payment plan and adhered to the payment arrangements.
18. Mrs B requested a review of the Council’s decision to close her application. She said that she had contacted the finance team who told her that the debt related to rent arrears for the property she left in January 2022, but that could not be correct because the rent was paid through her benefits. She asked the Council to provide further information about the debt.
19. The Council responded to Mrs B’s complaint about the condition of the temporary accommodation in April. It told Mrs B what she needed to do if she was still having problems with the heating and it referred her concerns about the decoration and carpeting to its temporary accommodation team. It also commented on Mrs B’s rent arrears, which it said were over £2000, and explained what she needed to do to join the housing register.
20. Mrs B was dissatisfied with the Council’s response and made a further complaint in May. She said that the Council had failed to repair the gas fire, there was mould in one room with wallpaper hanging off and floor coverings had not been provided. She said she had paid for carpets and lino herself.
21. Mrs B also said that she was willing to pay any money she owes, but it appeared the rent arrears had accumulated because the Council had continued to charge rent after she moved out of her previous accommodation. Mrs B said she had provided this information to the temporary accommodation team but she had not received a response.
22. In July, an officer from the temporary accommodation team told Mrs B that she continued to be liable for rent after she moved out because she had not returned the keys. She said that Mrs B owed £1120 for the period 13 January to 24 February, when the Council changed the locks and ended the tenancy. The officer explained that she also owed around £900 due to an earned income shortfall and housing benefit overpayments.
23. Mrs B told the officer that she returned the keys on 14 January and so she should not be charged for a tenancy overlap.
24. The Council provided an initial response to Mrs B’s complaint in September and then provided a further response in October after it had carried out some further investigation. It confirmed that it had changed Mrs B’s tenancy end date to 13 January and it had removed the rent arrears for the tenancy overlap. The Council told Mrs B that she still owed around £900.
25. Mrs B paid the amount outstanding the following week.
26. The Council introduced a new housing allocations scheme in January 2023. It reassessed Mrs B’s housing application and awarded band A, backdated to June 2018. The Council closed Mrs B’s review because she had been accepted on to the housing register.
27. Mrs B successfully bid on a property in January and moved to permanent accommodation in February.

Analysis

Delays

28. The Council’s complaints procedure states that it will respond to stage one complaints within 15 working days, and stage two complaints within 20 working days. Mrs B originally complained on 9 February. She received a response on 22 April, 50 working days later. Mrs B made a further complaint on 18 May and received the Council’s final response on 28 October, 115 working days later. These delays were fault.
29. Government guidance says that eight weeks is a reasonable timescale for completing reviews. Mrs B requested a review of the Council’s decision to close her housing application on 29 March 2022. The Council did not consider Mrs B’s request until 25 January 2023, 43 weeks later. This delay was fault.
30. The Council’s delays caused Mrs B distress and put her to avoidable time and trouble.

Removal from the housing register

31. The Council did not fully explain to Mrs B why it considered she owed it money until 7 July 2022, 14 weeks after she queried the matter. Then in October, after further investigation, the Council agreed to change the tenancy end date and remove the arrears relating to the tenancy overlap. Once the Council did so, Mrs B promptly paid the Council the amount she owed.
32. The Council took too long to investigate the matter and provide Mrs B with a proper explanation. This was fault. On the balance of probabilities, I consider it likely that if the Council had provided a proper explanation sooner, Mrs B would have paid the amount outstanding sooner and she would therefore have re-joined the housing register sooner.
33. The evidence provided by the Council suggests that Mrs B would likely have been offered a property by June 2022 if there had been no fault by the Council here.

Temporary accommodation

34. Councils are not required to provide carpet in temporary accommodation, but accommodation must be free from category one hazards and be fit for human habitation.
35. I have seen the property inspection records along with photographs and a video of the property taken just before Mrs B moved in. They do not indicate that there was any damp or mould in the property or that there were any category one hazards.
36. The Council has explained that the fire was disconnected because it was part of a back boiler system which has been decommissioned by the Council. It has replaced the boiler and has attended to deal with other disrepair reported by Mrs B. I have found no evidence of fault here.
37. Mrs B also considered the accommodation to be unsuitable because there were only two bedrooms, and so her 12-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter had to share a room. The Council has confirmed that it considers the accommodation was a suitable size for Mrs B’s family because living rooms can be used as sleeping areas in temporary accommodation. I have found no evidence of fault in the way this decision was reached.

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Agreed action

38. Within six weeks, the Council will make the following payments to Mrs B.
• £200 to recognise the distress and the avoidable time and trouble she was put to as a result of the delays in this case.
• £800 to recognise that the family would likely have moved to permanent accommodation 8 months sooner if there had been no fault by the Council.
39. Within eight weeks, the Council will review its procedures to ensure that when it closes a housing application due to a housing related debt, its letter to the applicant includes a full description of the debt and the amount outstanding.
40. Late last year, the Council provided a report showing how its performance in dealing with complaints significantly reduced in 2022. It said that this was due to staff turnover and that recruitment was underway to appoint replacements. It also said that a business case had been submitted and approved to recruit additional resource into the team in order to reduce delays and consistently achieve its corporate target. The Council has agreed to provide an update on its performance and the action it has taken over the last four months to reduce delays. It will do so within eight weeks of my final decision.
41. The Council has previously provided action plans to show the action it is taking to reduce delays in dealing with housing allocation applications and review requests. The Council has agreed to provide an updated action plan; it will state how long it is currently taking to process housing applications and reviews and it will provide a report to show how the time it is taking has changed over the last year. If delays have not significantly reduced, it will explain the reason for this. The Council will take this action within eight weeks of my final decision.
42. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

43. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman