Summary: Mrs X complained the Council placed her in unsuitable, unaffordable temporary accommodation when she became homeless. We have found the Council to be at fault because it made assumptions about her benefit entitlement and did not respond adequately to some of her concerns about disrepair. To remedy Mrs X’s distress and inconvenience, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to her. It will also remind staff of the need to properly consider affordability and respond promptly to reports of disrepair.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council placed her family in temporary accommodation she could not afford.
2. She also complains about the poor condition of this property and the Council’s failure to deal with her concerns about this quickly and effectively.
3. The Council’s actions caused Mrs X significant distress and inconvenience.

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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 investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), 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 spoke to Mrs X and considered the information provided. I also considered information provided by the Council and the relevant law and policy.
8. Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and policy

9. 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.
10. A council must secure interim accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
11. 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 homelessness duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
12. To be deemed suitable, temporary accommodation must be affordable. (The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation Order) 1996)
13. Housing benefit helps people on low income to pay their rent. It is a means tested benefit taking into account both capital and income. Working age claimants who have more than £16,000 are not entitled to housing benefit.
14. The Council works in partnership with a local social housing management company, Nottingham City Homes (the Company), it its delivery of housing advice and assistance. In trying to resolve her housing situation, Mrs X dealt with both Council and Company officers.

What happened

15. I have set out below a summary of the key events. But it is not meant to show everything that happened.

Affordability of temporary accommodation

16. Due to a change in circumstances, Mrs X became unexpectedly homeless in September 2021. Mrs X lived with her husband and two young children. She was expecting her third child.
17. She asked the Council for help finding somewhere to live. Having been accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation for several months, in March 2022 the Council made an offer of what it considered to be suitable temporary accommodation (the Property).
18. Mrs X was told the rent would be £1300 per month. She immediately told the Council this was unaffordable. She had already completed a housing expenditure assessment that stated the maximum she could afford was £750 per month. Mrs X was told housing benefit would make up the shortfall.
19. While Mrs X had already applied for housing benefit but was yet to be told the outcome. Because Mrs X and her husband were working, there was some uncertainty about her eligibility. There was an added complication because Mrs X’s was in receipt of student finance. Mrs X expressed her concerns to the Council but says he was told by an officer that, “she should get something”. In the meantime, Mrs X paid what she could afford towards the cost of the rent.
20. Mrs X says she was told by an officer of the Company that it may assist if she took a year off her studies and claim benefits instead. Mrs X says this caused great offence because she was proud that she had worked and studied so as not to be a burden on the state. She felt it was inappropriate for the Council to encourage people to do so.
21. In April 2022, Mrs X’s claim for housing benefit was rejected. She told the Council this made the current rent completely unaffordable.
22. In the meantime, Mrs X was trying to find accommodation in the private sector. This was more affordable, but impossible to secure because of the rent arrears.
23. Mrs X made a formal complaint. She was told the Company was better placed to deal with the affordability issue and no timeline could be given about when Mrs X would be rehoused.

Disrepair

24. Mrs X also expressed her concerns about the standard of the Property and its suitability for a young family. Specifically, reported the following areas of disrepair:

• The garden had been left full of rubbish and so was unusable.
• There were slugs and ants in the bathroom.
• Some furniture and the carpets throughout the property were heavily soiled.
• A fuse box had exposed wires.
• There were several holes in the walls and a large gap under an external door.

25. The Company, on behalf of the Council responded to some, but not all of her concerns of disrepair. For example, The Company came to clear the garden but was unable to gain access and so left without carrying out any work. Mrs X says no one had contacted her about this since. Similarly, an order was raised to fix the back door but was later cancelled. However, the Company did replace carpets and furniture.
26. She made a formal complaint about this and the actions of the Company. A Company officer had carried out an unannounced visit to discuss the rent arrears and made, what Mrs X believed to be, unnecessary judgement about the tidiness of the property.
27. In its complaint response, the Council accepted this unannounced visit should not have taken place and apologised for the distress caused. It also acknowledged some repairs had not been completed. Her complaint was upheld.
28. Mrs X says, despite her complaint being upheld, the Council did not properly acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused by disrepair at the Property. For this reason, she complained to the Ombudsman.

Current position

29. Since bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman, Mrs X has now moved to permanent, suitable accommodation. It has also been confirmed she was entitled to housing benefit. This has been backdated and so the rent arrears have been cleared. Despite her situation having now improved, she remains unhappy about the way she was treated and the avoidable distress and frustration she experienced during the four months she was living at the Property. This led to her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

30. The Council has a duty to secure suitable accommodation for homeless households to whom it owes a housing duty. To be suitable, the accommodation must be in a decent state of repair and free from hazards. It should also be affordable.

Affordability

31. There is no statutory right of review about the suitability of temporary accommodation, but we expect council to be able to demonstrate they have properly considered suitability, including its affordability.
32. The Council failed to do so in this case because it disregarded the outcome of the financial assessment and made an incorrect assumption about benefit entitlement at the time the offer of accommodation was made.
33. When Mrs X moved into the property it was not affordable. This confirmed by the financial assessment she was asked to complete. This said she could afford to pay £700 per month. Yet the rent on the property was nearly twice this amount. Without housing benefit, it was inevitable significant rent arrears would soon build up as they did.
34. It is my view, the Council should not have assumed Mrs X would be entitled to housing benefit, particularly as her husband worked full time and she received student finance. The case records confirm Mrs X was led to believe she would be entitled to housing benefit. It is understandable why Mrs X was so distressed when her claim was rejected.
35. Although Mrs X’s housing benefit claim was finally successful and backdated to cover the rent arrears, the Property was unaffordable for several months. Mrs X suffered an injustice during this time. The rent arrears meant she was unable to secure a private sector rental and Mrs X was left wondering how she would ever be in a position to clear the arrears.
36. I also find fault with how the Council responded to her concern about affordability.
37. The records show Mrs X raised the issue with the housing officer, the Company, before formally complaining to the Council personally and through her MP, about this issue. I have seen so evidence the council provided any substantive response about her affordability concern at any stage. The Council’s final complaint response was silent on the issue. This was fault. This clearly added to Mrs X’s worry and frustration at the time.
38. Overall, I am satisfied that, had the Council properly considered whether the Property was affordable and offered it to Mrs X, it would have decided that it was not. This was caused by fault in the decision-making process.
39. I accept the injustice arising from this fault came to an end when housing benefit was backdated, and when Mrs X was rehoused. However, I am satisfied Mrs X suffered distress and frustration for several months while she was trying to resolve the matter and rent arears were accruing. I have made recommendations below to remedy this injustice.

Disrepair

40. The Council’s complaint response has accepted there was fault because it did not deal with some of her reports of disrepair to its expected standards.
41. I have seen no evidence to demonstrate the condition of the Property was rendered uninhabitable and Mrs X should not have been moved there. However, there were clearly some areas that required immediate swift attentio3n, particularly as Mrs X has small children.
42. To the Council’s credit, it has accepted there was fault here. Some reports were either not actioned quickly enough, or not at all. It must be acknowledged however, that the Company did respond to several reports made by Mrs X in a timely fashion.
43. Mrs X was moved to permanent accommodation while some issues were still unresolved. Her injustice is therefore limited. I do however acknowledge that Mrs X spent time and trouble chasing the Council and the Company to carry out repairs and this injustice requires a remedy.

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Agreed action

44. To remedy the injustice I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks from the date of my final decision.
1. Apologise in writing to Mrs X.
2. Pay Mrs X £250 as a symbolic payment to acknowledge her distress and frustration caused by the faults I have identified.
3. Remind relevant staff of the need to properly consider affordability when making an offer of temporary accommodation, particularly when benefit entitlement has yet to be decided.
4. Remind relevant staff of the need to carry out essential repairs in a timely fashion.

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Final decision

45. I have found the Council to be at fault and the Council has agreed with my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman