Summary: Miss X complained the Council delayed carrying out repairs at her temporary accommodation and stopped her from bidding on suitable permanent accommodation while waiting for the repairs to be completed. The Council applied the wrong policy and suspended Miss X’s bidding rights which meant she missed out on several properties resulting in her living in unsuitable accommodation for 15 months. A suitable remedy is agreed.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council delayed carrying out repairs at her temporary accommodation and stopped her from bidding on suitable permanent accommodation while waiting to be moved out so the repairs can be completed.
2. Miss X says this has been distressing for her family and she believes that she has missed out on a suitable property.

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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 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)
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. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

The main housing duty

6. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Housing Allocations -The published scheme

7. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))

Reasonable preference

8. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:

• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

Choice based lettings

9. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises

Key facts

10. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
11. Miss X and her children have been living in temporary accommodation since 2017 after the Council accepted it owed them the main housing duty under homelessness legislation. As a homeless applicant, Miss X is able to place bids on available properties.
12. Miss X reported repair issues in 2020 and she says it took the Council over a year to repair a leak under the bath. The leak caused damage to the floor. Miss X says that her son tripped as a result of the damage and lost consciousness. The Council says it is unable to carry out the repairs with Miss X living in the property and that she will therefore need to move out.
13. In February 2023, the Council considered Miss X’s case at a decision panel. In March 2023 it approved a move as a temporary decant. The Council has been unable to provide me with a copy of the letter it sent to Miss X explaining this decision. It has also told me that because Miss X is not a secure tenant, this case should not have gone to the panel for a decision.
14. As a consequence of being approved for a temporary decant, Miss X was given priority Band A. This meant that any bids she placed on available properties would not be approved and so in effect she was suspended from bidding. When Miss X was last able to place bids, in February 2023, her bids were not successful but were less than position 20 for several properties. This indicates that she was getting closer to making a successful bid due to her priority and length of time on the housing register.
15. Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council in May 2023. The Council upheld her complaint saying it had carried out two surveys at the property and determined the works are too extensive to be done while the family remain at the property. It said it was taking action to find suitable alternative accommodation and would share this information with her as soon as possible.
16. Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two and raised the issue of not being able to bid. The Council responded on 23 June 2023 saying it would offer a like-for-like property as a temporary move to enable it to complete the repairs. It told Miss X she may be asked to move to a hotel but it would cover the costs while Miss X continued to pay the rent at her current property. It said that once the works are completed she would return to her current address and would be able to start bidding again.
17. Miss X complained to the Ombudsman in February 2024 as she had not been moved and was still unable to place bids. There is nothing to suggest the Council has offered Miss X any alternative accommodation to date.

Analysis

18. The Council has accepted it owes Miss X the main housing duty under homelessness legislation. While it has provided accommodation for Miss X and her family to live in since 2017, this is temporary and Miss X is not a secure tenant. The Council has a duty to ensure the property is properly maintained and necessary repairs completed.
19. The information provided by the Council indicates that it treated Miss X as though she was a secure tenant and followed its Temporary Moves (Decant) Policy. I asked the Council to provide a copy but it failed to do this. However, I found a copy on the internet. This policy should not have been applied in Miss X’s case. The policy clearly states at paragraph 1.7, it applies to secure tenants and resident leaseholders. At paragraph 1.8 it states it does not apply to non-secure tenants in temporary accommodation. The decision to treat Miss X’s situation as a temporary decant is fault.
20. I have found that the Council was wrong to treat Miss X as a temporary decant. However, in response to my enquiries the Council has failed to provide any evidence to show that since March 2023 it found or offered any alternative accommodation for Miss X to move into. It is possible that this failure to take action, despite upholding complaints to say that it would, is because the team responsible for such moves realised Miss X should not have a temporary decant.
21. The Council has prevented Miss X from bidding on properties as a homeless applicant for over 15 months. In response to my enquiries, it accepts that if Miss X had been able to bid then she would have been successful. The Council has provided me with a list of all two-bedroom properties let between March 2023 and June 2024. While I cannot know exactly which properties Miss X would have placed bids on, I consider it more likely than not that she should have been rehoused by June or July 2023. This means that Miss X has remained living in her current property for a year longer than should have. It also has to be noted that the property she has been living in is unsuitable as it requires repairs that cannot be completed while she is resident.

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Agreed action

22. To remedy the injustice caused to Miss X as a result of the fault identified above, the Council should, within one month of my final decision, take the following action:
• Apologise to Miss X;
• Reinstate her Band B priority and allow her to place bids with the effective date of 31 March 2017;
• Allocate to Miss X the first property she bids on regardless of her actual bid position (to make up for her losing out on numerous properties since March 2023). However, if Miss X has not placed a bid within three months then the Council should contact her to discuss a direct offer;
• Make a symbolic payment of £4050 to recognise that Miss X has lived in unsuitable accommodation for 15 months. This payment consists of £450 to recognise the three months from March to May 2023 when the property was unsuitable due to the repair issues and £3,600 for 12 months she remained in the unsuitable property because her bidding was wrongly suspended; and
• Make a symbolic payment of £500 to recognise the distress and time and trouble experienced by Miss X and her family.
23. Within three months of my final decision the Council should issue guidance to staff to ensure homeless applicants in temporary accommodation are not treated as secure tenants and not prevented from bidding on available properties.
24. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

25. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman