Summary: Miss X complained her temporary accommodation, provided by the Council is unsuitable due to her needs, its size and its disrepair. Miss X also complained about her allocation banding and she feels it should be higher. She says this has impacted her health and the health of her family. There was fault in the way the Council did not ensure issues in the temporary accommodation were fixed in a timely manner. Miss X was frustrated by the delay. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained her temporary accommodation, provided by the Council is unsuitable due to her needs, its size and its disrepair. Miss X also complained about her allocation banding and she feels it should be higher. She says this has impacted her health and the health of her family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’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)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a Council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. I have exercised discretion to consider events in this case back to February 2022. I reference events prior to this for context in this matter. I have seen Miss X contacted the Council in February 2022 to discuss this matter and the Council visited in April 2022.

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated Miss X’s complaint about the suitability of her temporary accommodation.
7. I have not investigated any reference to Miss X’s housing banding. This is because the Council has not had the opportunity to consider this complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I read Miss X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
9. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
10. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

11. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make inquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make inquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)
12. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
13. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.

A council must secure accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)

• If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

14. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty, but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation.
15. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household.  This duty applies to interim and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
16. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.
17. Examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age;
• care leavers; and
• victims of domestic abuse

18. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household. This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
19. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)

What happened

20. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
21. Miss X has additional needs. She has difficulty using stairs and needs a support network close to her.
22. Miss X moved into her temporary accommodation in September 2020. She was moved to alleviate a risk posed to her and her child. Miss X was accommodated under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996.
23. Miss X contacted the Council in October 2021. She felt her medical needs were not take into consideration and she needed a separate bedroom from her child. She said she has very little outdoor space for her child. She requested the Council review her housing banding as she thought her banding should be higher due to her medical needs.
24. Miss X contacted the Council in February 2022 to ask the Council to consider her review request. The Council arranged for an officer to visit Miss X’s home to consider the issues she raised. Miss X had to cancel the appointment due to potentially having Covid. The Council advised Miss X to contact it to rearrange the appointment when she was able to.
25. Miss X chased the Council in April 2022 to ask about the visit. The Council advised it was waiting for her to contact it. The Council arranged a visit to see Miss X at her home and consider the issues.
26. The Council completed a property inspection at the end of April 2022. The inspection showed a damaged window and a broken socket. The report advised the building had lifts which rarely broke down and were cleaned daily. The Council decided the property was suitable for Miss X’s needs.
27. Miss X complained to the Council in December 2022. She complained the Council was not adhering to the legislation regarding placing her in a suitable property.
28. The Council responded in January 2023. The Council advised it visited the property in April 2022, noted some repairs were needed and reported them to the landlord. It explained the property had lift access which was regularly cleaned and rarely broke down. The response confirmed a one-bedroom property was suitable for Miss X and her child. The Council advised it could consider alternative, two-bedroom accommodation, but it is likely to be a significant distance from her support network. The Council reflected it did not want to move Miss X away from this network, but it could not source a local two-bedroom property. The Council advised Miss X she was in temporary accommodation suitable for her needs but could bid for private accommodation. The Council asked Miss X to provide her personal independence payment (PIP) information to consider if her medical needs had changed since she had moved.
29. Miss X did not agree with the Council response to her complaint. She said she would not bid on properties that were not suitable for her. The Council accepted this but advised her legally her one-bedroom property was suitable. Miss X sent the Council a page from her PIP letter confirming she receives a payment. The Council advised it wanted a two-bedroom home for Miss X but it could not source one in the area she needed to be in for her support.
30. Miss X contacted the Council again in May 2023. She explained her concerns about the suitability of her property. Miss X stated the lift breaks down a lot and the socket and window in her property were still broken. The Council advised it would ensure the housing provider fixed the issues in her property. It asked for a copy of her PIP award information again.
31. The Council advised Miss X it considered her property suitable to meet her needs. It confirmed the property was level access with reliable lifts.
32. The housing provider informed the Council the repairs were carried out to the property at the start of June 2023.
33. Miss X contacted the Council again in the middle of June 2023. She said the lift was not reliable and provided a picture which, she said, showed the lift not working. The Council asked Miss X to provide her PIP information again. It also contacted the housing provider and requested information about the lift maintenance and how many times it had been broken.
34. The Council sourced Miss X a two-bedroom, privately rented property at the end of June 2023. The Council said it would ensure Miss X did not have to share a bedroom with her child. However, the property was over an hour from Miss X’s support network. Miss X informed the Council she could not move so far from her support network.
35. Miss X requested a formal suitability review of the new property in July 2023. She raised further concerns the new property was on the first floor with no lift. The Council asked Miss X to provide evidence she could not manage one flight of stairs and requested a copy of Miss X’s PIP information again.
36. Miss X provided the copy of her PIP entitlement in the middle of July 2023. Having considered the new evidence, the Council withdrew the offer of the new property. Miss X requested a formal review of her current temporary accommodation. The Council accepted Miss X’s suitability review request because of the new information it received.
37. Miss X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Miss X would like the Council to move her to suitable accommodation for her needs.
38. In response to my enquiries the Council stated it considered Miss X’s current placement was suitable for her needs. It stated it received new information in July 2023 and is reviewing the suitability of her current property. The Council acknowledged the letter it sent Miss X when she moved into the property, referenced the wrong section of the Housing Act 1996.

My findings

39. When the Council placed Miss X in her temporary accommodation in September 2020, it said it accommodated her under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996. When the Council responded to my enquiries, it acknowledged its mistake as this accommodation was offered under section 193 and the letter was wrong. This had no impact on Miss X as she was in secure temporary accommodation. This issue falls outside the scope of my investigation, but I will make a service improvement recommendation as the Council has acknowledged the fault.
40. We would usually expect people to use their right of appeal regarding suitability of temporary accommodation. However, after consideration of Miss X’s needs, we have exercised discretion to consider this complaint.
41. Miss X raised issues about the condition of her property in February 2022. When the Council visited in April 2022, it confirmed the issues with a window and electrical socket. The Council determined the property was suitable for Miss X. However, I have not seen evidence this was communicated to Miss X. This is fault and Miss X was frustrated by the Council’s lack of communication.
42. The Council did not fix the issues in the property until Miss X chased the Council again in May 2023. This is fault and Miss X was frustrated by the delay.
43. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
44. I have considered the steps the Council took to determine the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation, and the information it took into account making this decision. The Council considered all the information available when Miss X was placed in the temporary accommodation, but this is before the scope of this investigation. The Council has reviewed the suitability of the accommodation during the time Miss X has lived in the property. It determined the property was level access with accessible lifts and was within a suitable area for Miss X’s support network. The Council decided the accommodation was suitable to meet Miss X’s needs. There is no fault in how it took the decision, and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.
45. Miss X also said she does not have the correct priority on the Council’s housing register. The evidence I have seen suggests she only put that point to the Council in May 2023 and it has not completed the Council’s complaint procedure. Miss X should take this point through the Council’s complaint procedure. If she remains dissatisfied after completing that procedure, she can then bring this point to the Ombudsman.

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Agreed action

46. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Miss X by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Miss X for not ensuring repairs were carried out in a suitable time and not communicating its decision with Miss X. This apology should be in accordance with the Ombudsman’s new guidance Making an effective apology.
• Pay Miss X £200 as an acknowledgement of the frustration this delay caused.
• Remind relevant staff of the importance of providing accurate information when writing to people.
47. The Council should provide evidence of the actions taken to satisfy the recommendations.

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Final decision

48. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Miss X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman