Summary: Ms X complained the Council left her in unsuitable temporary accommodation. As a result she had to spend more time than she should have in this accommodation. We have found the Council at fault. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to her for the time she spent in unsuitable accommodation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council left her in unsuitable temporary accommodation and did not take steps to move her when it became aware of the problems she reported with the accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
4. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. 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

6. As part of this investigation I considered the complaint made by Ms X and the Council’s response. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information received in response. I sent a draft of this decision to Ms X and the Council for comments.

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What I found

Law and guidance

7. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
8. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, has a priority need and is not homeless intentionally 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 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
9. 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 temporary accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
10. 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

11. Ms X and her family lived in temporary accommodation. The Council owed Ms X the main housing duty and placed her into temporary accommodation in another council area.
12. In October 2023, social workers from the council area where Ms X lived wrote to the Council’s housing team explaining members of Ms X’s household were at risk living in the council area. The social worker explained there was a risk of violence and exploitation by older males towards Ms X’s family member. The social worker asked the Council to move the family out of the borough.
13. Ms X also complained to the Council in October 2023. Ms X said she was living in accommodation which was not safe for her family. Ms X asked the Council to move her.
14. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in November 2023 and partially upheld the complaint. The Council said it would place Ms X on its temporary accommodation transfer register.
15. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at the next stage in December 2023. The Council provided its final response in January 2024. The Council told Ms X it would contact her to discuss the seriousness of her situation.
16. In late July 2024, the Council found Ms X accommodation to rent in the private sector, which was out of the borough. Ms X moved into this accommodation in late July 2024.

Analysis

17. When Ms X complained to the Council in October 2023, and raised concerns about the suitability of her accommodation, the Council did not carry out a review of the suitability of her accommodation. This was fault. The Council should have carried out a review of the suitability of Ms X’s accommodation within 56 days and provided her with a written decision with reasons, and a right of appeal.
18. As the Council did not provide Ms X with a formal decision on the suitability of her accommodation with a right of appeal, I have exercised discretion to consider the case.
19. I have concluded that on balance the accommodation she occupied was not suitable. In reaching this view, I have considered the Council placed Ms X onto its temporary accommodation transfer list indicating that she needed to move to more suitable accommodation. Given the pressures the Council has on the availability of temporary accommodation, it seems unlikely it would place applicants on this list unless they needed to move to suitable accommodation. I have also considered the specific risks Ms X and the social worker raised to the Council about where she was living. As a result Ms X spent a long time in accommodation which was not suitable for her household.

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Agreed action

20. Within one month of my final decision the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Apologise to Ms X for not carrying out a review of the suitability of her temporary accommodation after she raised concerns about its suitability.
• Pay Ms X £2,000 for the time she has spent in unsuitable accommodation since she complained in October 2023.
21. In coming to this figure I have considered the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies which recommends a payment of between £150 and £350 per month for each month spent in unsuitable accommodation. In this case the Council should have carried out a review of the suitability of Ms X’s accommodation in October 2023, therefore I have started the remedy payment from this period and ended it when Ms X moved into alternative accommodation in July 2024. I have decided £250 per month was appropriate given the concerns raised about the risk to the family.
• Remind staff to ensure they carry out a suitability review of a person’s temporary accommodation when applicants or persons on their behalf raise concerns about the suitability of such accommodation.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

23. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Ms X. The Council agreed to carry out the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman