Summary: The Council failed to provide Miss B’s household with suitable accommodation when they were homeless. It also failed to tell Miss B that she had the right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Miss B and take action to prevent similar failings in future.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council failed to provide her family with suitable accommodation when they were homeless. She says they had to live in a hotel without kitchen facilities for around ten months, and each month they did not know until the last moment if the booking would be extended.
2. Miss B says this caused unnecessary distress and anxiety and on one occasion, the family had to find somewhere else to stay because the hotel was fully booked when the Council tried to extend the booking. Miss B also complains that the Council failed to respond to her emails and calls.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. 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

Homelessness

6. 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.
7. 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)
8. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her 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)
9. Applicants can ask a council to review its decision that the accommodation offered under the main housing duty is suitable. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, Homeless Code of Guidance, paragraph 19.3)
10. Bed and breakfast accommodation is not suitable for households with ‘family commitments’. The Order defines this as a household that includes a dependent child or a pregnant woman. Where no other accommodation is available, the Council may place a family in bed and breakfast accommodation as a last resort but only for a maximum of six weeks. (The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2003)
11. The Order defines bed and breakfast accommodation as accommodation which is not self-contained and where the household has to share a toilet, cooking or bathroom facilities with other households.

Overview

12. Miss B applied to join the Council’s housing register after her landlord served her with a section 21 eviction notice. She also made a homelessness application.
13. The Council accepted Miss B onto its housing register and she was able to bid for three bedroom properties.
14. When Miss B left the privately rented property, the Council placed Miss B and her 13-year-old daughter in a room in a hotel. The room had three beds for when her 21-year-old son returned from university at weekends. Miss B had access to shared kitchen facilities.
15. The Council accepted it owed Miss B the main housing duty in December 2021.
16. Miss B and her children stayed with family over the Christmas period. When they returned, the Council placed them in another hotel. It did not have any kitchen facilities.
17. On 4 February 2022, Miss B discovered that the hotel booking was ending. She tried to contact the Council by phone and email to find out what was happening. When an officer contacted Miss B later that day, Miss B said that she had paid herself to stay at the hotel that night but that it was fully booked the following night so they would stay with friends. The Council then booked a room in the hotel from 6 February until the end of the month.
18. Miss B made several complaints to the Council between April and June 2022. She complained about the length of time they had been staying in a hotel and how this was affecting them. She explained how stressful it was having to wait until the hotel booking was ending before finding out if it could be extended or if she would have to move somewhere else. She also complained that her calls were not being returned.
19. Miss B complained again when she discovered that her son had been removed from her housing application. This meant that she was no longer eligible for three-bedroom properties and could only bid on two-bedroom properties.
20. In the Council’s responses to Miss B’s complaints, it apologised for its poor communication. It told Miss B that she had been placed in the hotel because it was one of the few hotels which allowed dogs, but that the hotel only permitted guests to stay for 28 days at a time. It said that it could not make another booking well in advance of the date the booking was due to end because it would be breaking the hotel’s policy of limiting stays to a maximum of 28 days. The Council also explained that she was only able to bid on properties with two bedrooms because her son had not been included in the last housing application she completed.
21. When Miss B added her son back on to her application, she was able to bid for three-bedroom properties again.
22. Miss B contacted a housing charity who wrote to the Council on her behalf. It requested a review of the suitability of the accommodation the Council had provided for Miss B and her household.
23. The Council carried out the review and decided that the accommodation was unsuitable. It accepted that Miss B and her household had been accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks, which was contrary to the relevant legislation. The Council said that a request had been made for alternative suitable temporary accommodation to be provided as soon as possible.
24. The housing charity then told the Council that it intended to issue a claim for judicial review of its failure to provide Miss B’s family with suitable accommodation.
25. The Council then offered Miss B alternative self-contained accommodation and she moved in on 13 September 2022.
26. Analysis
27. The Council’s records show that, in April 2022, Miss B was told that she needed to amend her housing application to show that while her son was not currently living with her, he did need to be included in her application for permanent housing. This suggests that Miss B’s latest application had not been completed correctly.
28. Miss B amended her application several times in May but did not add her son back on to her application until 10 June 2022. The Council assessed the application around six weeks later, which resulted in Miss B being able to bid on three-bedroom properties again. I have found no evidence of fault by the Council here.
29. As explained in paragraphs ten and eleven, accommodation with shared facilities is not suitable for households with family commitments. Accommodation without kitchen facilities is also not suitable. The Council should only place families in such accommodation as a last resort, and for a maximum of six weeks.
30. Miss B and her daughter lived in a hotel room for around 43 weeks. Miss B’s son also stayed in the room during the university holidays. The Council failed to comply with its duty to provide suitable accommodation for the family. This was fault. The medical evidence provided shows that this had a detrimental impact on the mental health of both Miss B and her daughter. Miss B also incurred avoidable charges for storing her belongings while she was living at the hotel.
31. When the Council accepted that it owed Miss B the main housing duty in December 2021, it should have told her that she had a right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation. It did not do so; this was fault. The Council missed several further opportunities to tell Miss B about her right to request a review.
32. Miss B found living in the hotel particularly stressful because the hotel could only be booked for a maximum of 28 days, and the Council would wait until near the end of the booking before trying to extend it, by which time it might be fully booked.
33. The Council has explained that it tries to source self-contained temporary accommodation for families in bed and breakfast accommodation until the last day of the booking and only extends the booking if it has been unable to secure self-contained accommodation. It also says that it does not extend bookings earlier due to the lack of staffing capacity.
34. I accept the Council’s reasons for not extending the booking significantly before the date it is due to end. However, I do not consider it is reasonable to leave it until the last day. This happened to Miss B on two occasions and caused her significant distress. She had to remove all their belongings from the room and find somewhere else to stay. The Council’s failure to promptly respond to her calls added to her distress.
35. Miss B considers the Council discriminated against her because of her nationality. While I have identified fault by the Council, I have seen nothing to suggest this was due to discrimination.

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Agreed action

36. Within four weeks, the Council will make the following payments to Miss B:
• £2775 for the 37 weeks her household was living in unsuitable accommodation.
• £400 to recognise the additional distress Miss B suffered as a result of the failings in this case.
37. The Council has also agreed to pay the cost of storing Miss B’s belongings between 14 December 2021 and 13 September 2022. If Miss B paid more than she needed to pay, the Council will only pay the average market rate. It will make this payment within four weeks of Miss B providing a copy of the invoices.
38. Within eight weeks, the Council will:
• Provide an update on the action it is taking to ensure homeless families do not remain in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks. It should also provide evidence to show the number of families who have been in such accommodation for more than six weeks, and the average length of time homeless families have to stay before self-contained accommodation is provided.
• Remind relevant staff that homelessness applicants must be told about their right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation.
• Review its processes for extending hotel bookings to ensure that, wherever possible, it does not wait until the date the homeless applicant is due to check out before trying to extend the booking.
39. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

40. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss 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