Summary: Miss Y complained about the way the Council dealt with her homelessness application and repair issues at her accommodation. We have not found fault with the timescale in which the Council accepted the relief and main housing duties, or with its response to the repair issues. We have found fault by the Council in failing to consider the location of Miss Y’s daughter’s school and record its assessment of the suitability of the interim accommodation it offered Miss Y, causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy this by apologising to Miss Y, making a payment to recognise the distress and worry caused, and service improvements.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I am calling Miss Y, complains about the way the Council dealt with her homelessness application and repair issues at her accommodation. She says the Council:

• failed to consider the location of her daughter’s new school when it offered her interim accommodation. The accommodation offered was not suitable because it was a long way from the school. The cost of petrol meant she could not afford other bills, causing her additional stress and worry at an already difficult time. The long journey time affected her and her daughter’s wellbeing;
• delayed deciding whether it owed her the main housing duty. This delayed her move to permanent accommodation; and
• delayed carrying out repairs to the bath panel and boiler at her accommodation. The boiler issue meant the water was either freezing cold, over the winter period, or boiling hot, which caused her daughter to burn her hand. And the bath was left with exposed sharp metal which could have seriously hurt her daughter.

2. Miss Y wants the Council to reimburse her for the additional petrol costs and pay financial redress for the stress and worry and impact on their wellbeing.

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.
4. 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. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Miss Y, read her complaint and the Council’s response to our enquiries, together with all the other information Miss Y and the Council provided about the complaint.
7. I invited Miss Y and the Council to comment on a draft version of this decision. I considered their responses before making my final decision.

Back to top

What I found

What should have happened

Councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless

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.

The relief duty

9. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation when it is satisfied a person is homeless and eligible (the relief duty). When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)

The duty to provide interim accommodation.

10. 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)
11. An applicant has a priority need if they have dependent children.

The main housing duty

12. 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 (the main housing duty).
13. The accommodation a council provides until it ends this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Timescale for deciding whether the main housing duty is owed

14. The relief duty ends after 56 days where a council is satisfied the applicant has a priority need, has become homeless unintentionally and that it owes the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B (4))
15. Where a council has the information needed to decide whether it owes the main housing duty, it should be possible to notify the applicant on or around day 57. In cases where significant further investigations are required it is recommended councils aim to complete their enquiries and notify the applicant of their decision within a maximum of 15 working days after 56 days has passed. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 14.17)

Suitability of accommodation

16. 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)
17. Bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and from 3 April 2018 Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.32)
18. Councils are required to assess whether accommodation is suitable for each household individually and case records should demonstrate they have taken the statutory requirements into account in securing the accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.9)
19. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when assessing suitability. Where possible, councils should seek to retain established links with schools and have regard to minimising the disruption to the education of children. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.51 and 17.53)

Review rights

20. An applicant has a statutory right to a review of 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 a review of the suitability of interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)

What happened

21. I have set out a summary of the key events below. It is not meant to show everything that happened. It is based on my review of all the evidence provided about this complaint.

Complaint background

22. Miss Y contacted the Council’s housing needs service in July 2022. She and her young daughter were currently living in another council’s area. She told the Council she was facing homelessness because the property she was living in was about to be sold. She wanted to relocate to the Council’s area as she had family connections there and was already on the Council’s housing register.

The Council’s offer of interim accommodation

23. On 24 August Miss Y told the Council she would be homeless that evening. The housing team completed a housing assessment and, as she had a priority need, provided Miss Y and her daughter with emergency accommodation at a hotel within its area.
24. In September the Council secured alternative accommodation for Miss Y, a self-contained two bedroom property within its area.
25. Miss Y says an officer called her about the accommodation offer while she was at the hotel. She told the officer she was in the process of getting a place for her daughter at a school some distance from the accommodation offered and it would involve a long journey. She was very distressed when the officer told her she had to accept the offer.
26. The Council wrote to Miss Y on 21 September confirming its offer of accommodation as interim accommodation under section 188(1) of the Housing Act 1996 and Homeless Reduction Act 2017. It said it had considered all her personal circumstances and those of her household members and was satisfied the offer of accommodation was suitable and reasonable for her to accept.
27. Miss Y moved into the new property on 21 September.

Miss Y’s daughter’s move to a new school

28. Miss Y moved into the hotel accommodation in the Council’s area in August, during the school summer holidays. At this stage her daughter was still on the roll at the school she attended when they lived in another council’s area.
29. The records I have seen show Miss Y contacted the Council’s school admissions team on 1 September about a school place for her daughter. Miss Y submitted her application on 9 September. Her preference was for the school which subsequently offered her daughter a place. She said she would hopefully be moving near to this school.
30. The school admissions team told Miss Y on 27 September it had decided to offer a place at her preferred school. Miss Y accepted the place on 28 September.

Contact about Miss Y’s interim accommodation

31. The Council’s records of its contact with Miss Y show, from 21 September to October:

• 22 September, home visit: Miss Y was not in;
• 28 September, home visit: they discussed Miss Y’s preferred area for permanent accommodation and the location of her daughter’s new school; and
• 20 October, phone call: about her concerns with some issues with another parent at her daughter’s school.

32. During November:

• 9 November, home visit: Miss Y said she was happier about the issues with the parent at school. She raised concerns about her finances and an issue with the bath. She was advised this could be reported for repair;
• 15 November, plumber’s visit: The Council arranged for a plumber to attend to replace the bath. The plumber returned to fit the bath panel on 25 November. Miss Y said he could not come in as her daughter was ill; and
• 25 November, contact with housing team: Miss Y told the team about the bath panel and an issue with the boiler. They asked if she had arranged for the plumber to return another time and for details of the boiler issue. Miss Y did not reply.

33. And in December:

• 14 December, home visit: Miss Y was not in. The officer left a card asking her to call as soon as possible;
• 20 December, home visit: As there was no reply the officer sent a text message to Miss Y; and
• 21 December, phone call: The officer told Miss Y they had been trying to contact her about her application and had sent emails and left voicemails. Miss Y said she had reported the repair issues and no one had got back to her. The officer said they had tried to call and left voicemails. Miss Y said she didn’t listen to her voicemails.

January 2023: Miss Y’s complaint about the interim accommodation and other issues

34. Miss Y complained to the Council in January about a number of issues, including:

• Being placed in interim accommodation in September 2022 some distance from her daughter’s school. She was told she would have to move to this property although she informed the Council it was too far from the new school at which her daughter had just been given a place. She was having to spend a lot of time and money on petrol getting her daughter to and from school;
• A delay in completing its enquiries and deciding whether it owed her the main housing duty. This was affecting her ability to bid on properties closer to her daughter’s school; and
• A failure to replace the bath panel, which meant sharp parts were left exposed, and to repair the boiler which meant the water was either boiling hot (her daughter had burnt her hand on one occasion) or freezing cold.

January to February 2023: Council’s response

35. The Council called Miss Y about the repair issues after receiving her complaint about the bath panel and boiler. A new panel was ordered. A heating engineer visited the same day to check the boiler. The engineer advised Miss Y had heating and hot water, a new part for the boiler had been ordered, and a further visit would be arranged.
36. It told Miss Y it would look for alternative accommodation nearer to the school and could discuss a referral for support with transport costs with her.
37. In February Miss Y told the Council a heating engineer had visited a couple of weeks ago to complete the repair but at a time she had told them she would not be in. She had not heard from them about a re-arranged visit.
38. On 9 February the Council called Miss Y to offer her alternative interim accommodation closer to her daughter's school. Miss Y declined the offer because she hoped she would be offered permanent accommodation soon and didn’t want to uproot her daughter again.
39. The Council says the bath panel was fitted on 14 February and the boiler repair was also completed.
40. In reply to Miss Y’s complaint the Council said:

• It was not told about the location of Miss Y’s daughter’s new school at the time it assessed the suitability of the interim accommodation offered in September 2022. Miss Y first told it about the new school at the home visit on 28 September; and
• It had tried to contact her about the bath panel and boiler issues after her report on 25 November. It had made phone calls, left voicemail messages and visited on 14 and 20 December but had not any further communication from her about the issues.

August 2022 to March 2023: assessment of Miss Y’s homelessness application

41. After completing her assessment on 24 August 2022, the Council told Miss Y by email it was trying to contact her about her application.
42. The Council’s records show it made enquiries about Miss Y’s application and that it tried to contact her by email and phone regarding these enquiries and further information needed.
43. Its record of a phone call with Miss Y on 21 December said it told her it had been trying to contact her to progress her application and had sent emails and left voicemails. Miss Y told it she didn’t listen to voicemails. She provided information in response to the Council’s questions about her application.
44. Following this call the Council recorded it had completed the further enquiries regarding Miss Y’s application.
45. On 4 January the Council wrote to Miss Y confirming its decision she was eligible for assistance, homeless, and in priority need. It accepted it owed her the relief duty.
46. On 2 March the Council wrote to Miss Y confirming it had decided it owed her the main housing duty.

April 2023: housing offer

47. Miss Y accepted an offer of permanent social housing. The Council confirmed to her in writing its main housing duty had now been discharged.

Council’s response to us

48. The Council has told us there should have been a formal suitability assessment of Miss Y’s accommodation when it accepted the main duty. This was not done. It has now put a procedure in place to make sure a suitability assessment is recorded when a main duty is accepted or on a change in circumstances.
49. It accepts there was a delay in triggering Miss Y’s relief duty which may have impacted how long she stayed in temporary accommodation. This delay was due to difficulties obtaining all the correct information for the assessment from Miss Y.

My analysis – was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

Suitability of Miss Y’s accommodation

50. The Council has a duty to assess the suitability of all accommodation provided to homeless applicants, including interim accommodation. Where the household includes children, this includes consideration of any disruption to their education.
51. Accommodation which may not be suitable for the long term may still be suitable in the short term. But the Council has not provided any records of its assessment of the suitability of the interim accommodation it secured for Miss Y in September. There is nothing to show it considered the location of Miss Y’s daughter’s school before offering the accommodation.
52. The Council says it did not consider the location of Miss Y’s daughter’s school when assessing suitability because it did not know about this until 28 September, after Miss Y had moved in. But this is something it should have asked her about before it offered the interim accommodation as this was relevant to its assessment of suitability.
53. Although the Council has not provided any record of this, in my view it must have spoken to Miss Y about the proposed accommodation before she moved in on 21 September. The information shows Miss Y started the process of applying for a school place for her daughter on 9 September. I consider it more likely Miss Y told the Council about the difficulty with the distance from the school when it first contacted her about the new interim accommodation, before she moved in on 21 September.
54. My view is the Council failed to consider the location of Miss Y’s daughter’s school when it offered the interim accommodation, and failed to keep case records showing how it assessed its suitability. This was fault.

Impact of the failure to consider suitability of the interim accommodation

55. There is no indication the interim accommodation, as a two bedroom bungalow - did not meet Miss Y and her daughter’s physical housing needs. The issue was its location, some distance from the new school her daughter was about to start attending.
56. Miss Y didn’t have the right to ask for a review of its suitability at this stage. But I haven’t seen any evidence she complained about its suitability after she moved in on 21 September, until her formal complaint in January 2023. In response to her complaint, the Council offered alternative interim accommodation nearer to the school. But by this time, Miss Y hoped to be offered permanent accommodation shortly and didn’t want to move her daughter again.
57. I asked the Council for details of any other interim accommodation available within its area in the period from 14 to 21 September. The only other suitably sized accommodation available at this time was a flat, still some distance from the school, but a little closer than the accommodation offered to Miss Y.
58. In my view, had the Council considered the location of the new school Miss Y hoped her daughter would be going to, it may have been able to offer Miss Y the option of the other property. I don’t know anything about the circumstances of the other family to whom it was let around the same time. It may not have been able to do so.
59. But I consider the Council’s response to Miss Y’s distress at being offered interim accommodation some distance from the school caused Miss Y uncertainty about whether the outcome would have been different had the Council considered its suitability and any other options at that point.

Assessment of Miss Y’s housing application

60. The Council appears to have decided when it completed its initial assessment in August 2022, it had reason to believe Miss Y was eligible for assistance, might be homeless, and in priority need. This was the basis on which it accepted the duty to provide her with interim accommodation.
61. But it has explained it was not satisfied at this stage Miss Y was actually homeless and had to make further enquiries before it could make its decision about this. it has also explained the difficulties it had obtaining the information it needed. It was not able to complete these enquires until it was able to speak to Miss Y on 21 December.
62. On this basis, I do not consider there was any delay by the Council in accepting the relief duty.
63. The Code says the expected timescale for completing the enquiries needed for a council to decide whether it owes the main housing duty is 56 days from the start of the relief duty. On this basis the Council should have made a decision by 1 March 2023. The Council told Miss Y on 2 March 2023 it had accepted the main duty. This was within the expected timescale.
64. I have not found fault by the Council in the way it assessed Miss Y’s housing application.

Response to reports of repair issues

65. In my view, the Council responded promptly to Miss Y’s report of issues with the bath in November 2022 and arranged its immediate replacement. There was a delay in fitting the bath panel, but the evidence seen indicates this was due to difficulties communicating with Miss Y.
66. The Council asked Miss Y for details of the issue with the boiler, but these were not provided for some time.
67. I consider the Council took appropriate action once Miss Y told it about the issues as part of her complaint in January 2023. It immediately arranged to replace the bath panel and a visit by a heating engineer.
68. I have not found fault by the Council in the way it responded to Miss Y’s concerns about repair issues at the accommodation.

Agreed action

69. To remedy the injustice caused by the above faults and, within four weeks from the date of our final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. apologise to Miss Y for failing to consider the location of her daughter’s school and record its suitability assessment of the interim accommodation offered. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings; and
2. pay Miss Y £150 to reflect the distress and worry caused by the uncertainty about the suitability of the interim accommodation. This is a symbolic amount based on our guidance on remedies.
70. And within three months from the date of our final decision, the Council has agreed to:

• provide details of the action it has taken to ensure suitability assessments of interim and temporary accommodation are properly recorded.

71. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

72. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above action as a suitable way to remedy the injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman