Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council managed her homelessness application and temporary accommodation during 2022. The Council was at fault. It failed to carry out a suitability assessment when it provided her with temporary accommodation which was unaffordable. It meant Miss X remained in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 9 months. It also failed to provide her with a housing officer and a personalised housing plan. The Council agreed to apologise to Miss X and provide her with a payment to acknowledge the time spent in unsuitable accommodation and the distress and uncertainty that caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council managed her homelessness application and request for housing during 2022. Specifically, she complains the Council:
• failed to send her a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP)
• failed to allocate her a housing officer after her initial one left in June 2022.
• Did not fully assess the affordability of her temporary accommodation which led to her accruing rent arears.
2. Miss X says the Council’s handling of her homelessness application meant she has been unable to find permanent housing and was left in unsuitable and unaffordable temporary accommodation for longer than necessary.

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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. We spoke to Miss X about her complaint and considered information she provided.
6. We considered the Council’s response to our enquiry letter.
7. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. 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.
9. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
10. Assessments and PHPs must be kept under review throughout the prevention and relief stages, and any amendments notified to the applicant. Housing authorities will wish to establish timescales for reviewing plans, and these are likely to vary according to individual needs and circumstances.
11. If a council is satisfied someone is eligible, homeless, in priority need and unintentionally homeless it will owe them the main homelessness duty. Generally the council carries out the duty by arranging temporary accommodation until it makes a suitable offer of social housing or private rented accommodation.
12. 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) If an applicant considers the temporary accommodation is unsuitable, they can ask the council to carry out a statutory review of its suitability, following which they can appeal on a point of law to the county court.
13. In determining whether accommodation is suitable and reasonable to occupy councils must take into account affordability. In doing so it must consider the financial resources available to the occupant, accommodation costs and the occupants reasonable living expenses.

What happened

14. In February 2022 Miss X approached the Council for housing as she was homeless. At the time Miss X and her child were living with her ex-partner’s family. The Council wrote to Miss X accepting it owed her a homelessness relief duty. The letter said it had attached a PHP for Miss X setting out the actions the Council intended to take as well as actions it expected Miss X to take. Miss X said she did not receive the PHP.
15. A housing officer (Officer A) contacted Miss X a few days after sending the letter to discuss her housing needs.
16. In April 2022 the Council had decided it owed Miss X the main housing duty. Miss X said she did not receive a letter confirming this and the Council said it has no records showing otherwise. The letter concluded her current temporary accommodation was suitable, even though at the time she was still living with her ex-partner’s family.
17. In early June 2022 Miss X complained to the Council via her MP. She said she had not received a PHP from Officer A. She said she had contacted Officer A in May but was told he was off sick and has heard nothing since. Miss X said she was currently still living with her ex-partner’s family which was not suitable, she did not want to be there but could not afford private rent. The Council said it would allocate her a new housing officer.
18. The Council responded to the complaint at the start of July 2022 and apologised for the poor communication and service from Officer A. The Council said it had managed to secure Miss X a place in secured accommodation which housed other females. This had one bedroom and an en-suite bathroom. The Council acknowledged this temporary accommodation was not ideal but said there was limited availability. It said it would contact Miss X when something else became available. It advised Miss X it had placed her in band 2 of its housing allocations scheme and said she was eligible for two-bedroom properties. It advised her to widen her areas of preference to increase her chances of securing a property.
19. Miss X escalated her complaint at the start of August 2022. She said the Council had still not assigned her a new housing officer. She also said the rent her temporary accommodation was unaffordable and there was a £60 shortfall each week which was putting her in rent arrears. Miss X asked the Council again to assign her a new housing officer so they could review the case as she could not remain in the temporary accommodation with her child for prolonged period.
20. The Council responded a few days via Miss X’s MP. It apologised nobody had contacted her from the housing options team about a new housing officer. The responding officer said they had contacted senior managers and asked them to provide assistance to her around the affordability. The Council said it was unable to provide timescales for when new temporary accommodation would become available. It confirmed Miss X was in band 2 and that a letter was sent to her outlining her right of review of this decision.
21. In September and October 2022 Miss X again complained through her MP that the Council had still not provided her with a housing officer. Miss X said she needed to leave the current temporary accommodation and raised instances of crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) which was affecting her mental health. Miss X said she could not afford a deposit or upfront rent for private properties.
22. The Council issued a final response to Miss X at the end of October. It apologised for the difficulties she was having at the temporary accommodation and advised her to speak with her landlord or the police about the ASB and crime. The Council signposted her to a rent scheme to potentially help with a deposit for a private rent property. It apologised nobody had progressed allocating her a new housing officer.
23. Miss X remained unhappy and complained to us.

The Council’s response to us

24. The Council told us it accepted the homelessness relief duty in February 2022 and provided the temporary accommodation in June. It said Miss X was in band 2 but she had only selected 7 areas for properties which was limiting her chances of securing a property.
25. Records show the Council provided Miss X with a new housing officer in January 2023 who reviewed her case and completed a new PHP. It also found her alternative temporary accommodation which she moved into in March 2023. It apologised for the delay in providing the new housing officer which it said was due to large caseloads. The Council told us it had reviewed Miss X’s case and due to a new allocation scheme (January 2023) it had now awarded her band A which was the highest band. It still however advised her to widen her search area for a better chance in securing a permanent property.

My findings

26. The Council accepted the relief duty for Miss X in February 2022 and then the main duty in April 2022. On balance, the Council failed to send Miss X a copy of the main housing duty decision letter which is fault.
27. Prior to Miss X’s first complaint in June 2022 there is no evidence the Council took any steps to secure suitable temporary accommodation and she had no further contact from her housing officer. The main housing duty letter to Miss X in April concluded her temporary accommodation was suitable. However, at the time, Miss X was living with family and not in temporary accommodation. There is no evidence the Council took any action around Miss X’s homelessness until she complained in June 2022. This is fault.
28. Following Miss X’s complaint in June 2022 the Council provided her with temporary accommodation. However, there is no evidence the Council carried out a suitability assessment. The cost of the temporary accommodation meant Miss X had a £60 shortfall each week. The Council put the onus on the accommodation provider to check affordability, however, it is for councils to check whether someone can afford accommodation as part of a suitability assessment. The failure to carry out a suitability assessment meant Miss X was provided with unaffordable temporary accommodation. If accommodation is not affordable it is not suitable. Therefore, from the end of June 2022 until March 2023 Miss X lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation which is fault.
29. The Council’s handling of Miss X’s homelessness was poor. The initial housing officer stopped communicating with Miss X from around April 2022 onwards. Despite several requests and acknowledgements, the Council failed to allocate Miss X a new housing officer until January 2023. The Council also failed to provide Miss X with a PHP until January 2023. Although the Council created one in February 2022 it failed to provide Miss X with a copy of it and did not carry out any reviews. Had the Council allocated Miss X a housing officer earlier it is likely it would have provided Miss X with alternative, suitable temporary accommodation much sooner.
30. We note the Council has now moved Miss X into the highest banding in line with its allocation scheme and has provided Miss X with alternative temporary accommodation.

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Agreed action

31. Within one month of the final decision the Council agreed to:
• Write to Miss X and apologise for the distress and uncertainty caused by faults identified above. The letter should also establish timescales of when it intends to review Miss X’s Personalised Housing Plan.
• Pay Miss X £1350 for the 9 months she lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation between July 2022 and March 2023. This is based on a monthly rate of £150 in line with our guidance on remedies for unsuitable accommodation. This takes account of that fact the accommodation was unaffordable but was suitable in other respects.
• Remind housing officers to carry out affordability assessments before placing people in temporary accommodation. It’s letter offering should set out its reasons for considering the accommodation is suitable, including its reasons for deciding it is affordable. It should remind housing officers this is the Council’s responsibility and not the responsibility of housing providers.
32. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

33. I completed this investigation. I found fault and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused by the fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman