Summary: Miss K complained about the Council’s handling of her homeless applications since late 2022. We found the Council failed to properly consider her application and provide her with interim accommodation when she was at risk or threatened with violence. It also caused delays in its complaints handling. There was no fault in the Council’s handling of her homeless application since February 2023. The Council will apologise to Miss K and make payment to acknowledge the injustice this caused her and her family.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss K, complained about the Council’s handling of her homeless application since late 2022. She wants the Council to provide affordable secure accommodation.
2. Miss K also shared concerns about the Council’s handling of her Council tax account in 2022 and housing situation since 2009.
3. She said, as a result, she and her children have experienced distress, and her mental health has worsened.

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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 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)
5. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have investigated Miss K’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application since Autumn 2022.
8. I have not investigated Miss K’s concerns about:
• Council tax liability as she has said she may pursue this separately; and
• the Council’s handling of her housing situation since 2009 as this part of her complaint is late.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I have considered Miss K’s complaint and discussed the complaint with her. I also made enquires to the Council and considered the information it and Miss K provided.
10. Miss K and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Homeless or threatened homelessness

11. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (the Act) and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (code of guidance) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
12. The Act says someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council, he or she is likely to become homeless within 56 days or he or she has been served with a valid Section 21 notice which will expire within 56 days. Serving of a section 21 notice is a landlord’s first step in evicting a tenant.
13. The Act says where a housing authority has reason to believe a person asking the council for help with accommodation may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it must make enquiries about whether the person is eligible for help and what, if any, duties are owed to that person. These enquiries take the form of an assessment undertaken by the council and should usually include an in-person interview.
14. When a housing authority has completed its inquiries, it must notify the applicant in writing of its decisions. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons. All letters must include information about the right to request a review and the timescale for doing so.
15. Assessments must include details of the circumstances that have caused the applicant to either become homeless or be threatened with homelessness, the applicant’s housing needs and what support they would need to have and keep suitable accommodation. The Act is clear an applicant should not be treated as having accommodation unless it is reasonable for them to occupy it.

Prevention duty

16. Throughout any period an applicant remains in occupation whilst the landlord pursues possession action, the housing authority should keep the reasonable steps in the applicant’s PHP under regular review, and maintain contact with the tenant and landlord to see if there is any change in circumstances which affects whether or not it continues to be reasonable for the applicant to occupy.
17. Where applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, housing authorities must take reasonable steps to help prevent their homelessness. This is called the prevention duty.
18. Under the prevention duty councils are required to help applicants secure accommodation but do not have to secure such accommodation themselves. The prevention duty comes to end in particular identified circumstances that include where the applicant becomes homeless but where a landlord has served a valid section 21 notice. The council is required to notify the applicant of the end of this duty and the reasons for this and the applicant may ask for a review of this decision.

Relief duty

19. Councils have a relief duty where they are satisfied that an applicant is homeless (as opposed to threatened with homelessness) and eligible for assistance. Under the relief duty the council is required to take reasonable steps to help the applicant secure accommodation that will be available for at least 6 months. Again, it does not have to secure the accommodation itself though it may choose to do so. When the council decides the applicant is in priority need and is not intentionally homeless the relief duty ends after 56 days. The council must then decide if a main housing duty is owed.
20. If, after completing an assessment, the council does consider it owes the applicant a duty it must draw up a PHP with the applicant to either prevent or relieve their homelessness. This details the actions both the council and the applicant will take to try to resolve the threatened or actual homelessness. The PHP must be kept under review.
21. If homelessness is not successfully prevented or relieved the council will owe the main housing duty to applicants who are eligible, have a priority need for accommodation and are not intentionally homeless. Households with priority need if homeless include those who are vulnerable. Councils may perform the main housing duty by providing accommodation itself, securing accommodation from someone else or helping the applicant to find their own secure accommodation.

Interim accommodation

22. A council must provide interim accommodation if (and as soon as) it has reason to believe a person (or household) may be homeless, eligible and in priority need.
23. The code of guidance says the Secretary of State considers it is highly unlikely to be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy a property beyond the date on which the court has ordered them to leave the property and give possession to the landlord.
24. The code of guidance says housing authorities should not consider it reasonable for an applicant to remain in occupation up until the point at which a court issues a warrant or writ to enforce an order for possession.

Risk of violence

25. When a housing authority considers a homeless application based on violence or the risk of violence, the code of guidance sets out:
• interim accommodation must be provided if the authority have reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need;
• it is not reasonable for a person to continue to occupy accommodation if it is probable that this will lead to violence against the to the applicant or family members who may reasonably be expected to reside with them;
• victims may have left behind ID and other documentation that may be required to support their application. Applicants must not be asked to return to a particular locality or property to collect documentation if there is any chance that it could put them in danger;
• obtained ID and other supporting documents may take time. Delay in obtaining these should not be a barrier to access safe interim accommodation in cases where there is reason to believe the applicant is homeless, eligible and in priority need; and
• assessing whether a risk of violence is ‘likely to be carried out’ should be taken on a case-by-case basis by evaluating the account given by the applicant and the evidence that has been presented. To establish this the authority may wish to seek further evidence from other people or agencies, including social services, the police, or landlords.

Council’s Housing Allocations Policy

26. The Council’s Policy sets out how it will support and prioritise applicants on its housing register. It will close a case if it receives a subsequent homelessness application from the applicant.

Council’s Complaints Policy

27. The Council says it will:
• (Stage one) acknowledge complaints it receives within three working days. The relevant service complained about will provide its response within 10 working days after its acknowledgement. This may be extended for a further 10 working days. It will tell complainants if it needs more time to respond and provide a date it will respond by; and
• (Stage two) if a complainant remains unhappy it will acknowledge escalated complaints within five working days. A senior manager will provide its response 30 working days of the acknowledgement. If it has not been completed within this timeframe, it will let the complainant know and provide a date it will respond by.

What happened

28. Miss K lives with her children in privately rented accommodation within the Council’s area. She has previously applied to the Council for housing support, but the Council found her family’s needs were such it could discharge its duty by supporting her to obtain privately rented accommodation.
29. In Autumn 2022 Miss K said she had to flee her property as her address had become known to a gang and a window was broken by unknown perpetrators. She initially stayed with a family member but approached the Council’s Out of Hours Homeless Service two weeks later. The Council:
• placed Miss K and her children in emergency accommodation and asked her to share crime reference information from the Police; and
• ceased the emergency accommodation two days later. It told Miss K it had found there was no risk to her family’s lives and they should return to their privately rented flat. Miss K said she instead went to her family members flat.
30. Two weeks later, Miss K’s landlord changed the locks on her property when attending to fix her window. It told her this was because he understood from the Police she was not living there, and she had been reallocated elsewhere. He shared details of how Miss K could get in contact and get access to her flat.
31. Miss K again approached the Council’s housing service for support. The available information shows:
• she told the Council she was homeless and shared information from the Police advising her to stay away from her privately rented property due to a potential risk to her family;
• a social worker supporting Miss K’s daughter asked the Council’s homelessness team to support the family due to the impact the housing situation had on her children;
• the Council considered Miss K’s homeless application but said it could not reach a view on whether it owed her a duty as she needed to provide a range of documents. It told her she should prioritise documents which proved her identity first as it could not progress her application otherwise;
• Miss K told the Council she did not have access to her flat at the time, and asked if she could get more time to provide the information. The Council agreed;
• three weeks later, she told the Council she had access to her flat but was busy and asked for more time to provide her documents. The Council agreed; and
• no further contact took place between the Council and Miss K until February 2023.
32. In February 2023, Miss K contacted the Council again. She said her landlord had issued a notice seeking possession of her property.
33. The Council opened a new homelessness case for Miss K. It told her this was because it believed she may be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. The available information shows:
• the Council asked her to provide a range of documents again, including identity documents;
• A few weeks later, Miss K provided the documents to the Council;
• the Council issued a relief duty notification to her, which included her personal housing plan for how she could resolve her threatened homelessness. This included its ‘Find Your Own Home’ scheme where it provides a financial contribution to secure a tenancy privately;
• the Council contacted Miss K to arrange a viewing of a privately rented flat, but said it could not reach her; and
• the Council made further attempts to contact Miss K over the following month, but she did not respond to its calls or voicemails.
34. In May 2023 Miss K shared a letter from her therapist with the Council. The Therapist said Miss K’s housing situation was impacting her mental health and asked the Council to help her get secure accommodation. Miss K’s daughter also shared a new notice seeking possession from her landlord.
35. The Council emailed Miss K after having attempted to call her. Her daughter disputed calls had been made, and the Council shared evidence of its attempted calls.
36. Miss K’s daughter told the Council they had attempted to find privately rented accommodation but had been unsuccessful. She questioned why Miss K was not on the Council’s housing register.
37. The Council told Miss K’s daughter they could join its housing register, however, this was a long term option. As Miss K may be evicted soon, privately rented accommodation would be the immediate option. It said she should continue to look for accommodation and the Council would inform her if it became aware of any available private rented properties.
38. The Council asked Miss K to complete forms which would enable its procurement team to help her find privately rented accommodation which would be suitable and affordable to her.
39. In Summer 2023, an advice agency supporting Miss K asked the Council to escalate its homelessness help for her due to the risk of violence she was experiencing. It explained this was gang related and she had previously had to move due to similar concerns.
40. When Miss K provided the information to the Council, it passed the information to is procurement team.

Miss K’s complaint

41. Miss K complained to the Council in late 2022 and escalated her complaint in February 2023. She said:
• it had failed support her with her homelessness situation due to the threat of violence and the landlord seeking possession of her property. She also said her daughter had attempted suicide and its social services were aware;
• it had caused delays as it asked her to provide documents which it should already have in its possession. She also said she could not provide these during the time she did not have access to her property;
• she was unhappy about how its housing officer had communicated with her;
• her private rented accommodation was cold as the heating was not working properly; and
• disagreed her housing register application had been closed when she applied for homelessness. She said she wanted the Council to provide secure socially rented accommodation.
42. The Council provided its response to Miss K’s complaint in January 2023 and its final complaint response in June 2023. Overall, it did not uphold her complaint, and explained:
• it could not progress her homelessness application in late 2022 as she had failed to provide the documents it requested to prove she was eligible for assistance, which Miss K had told the Council she would provide but failed to do so. However, it did accept its officer did not contact her for 3 months and this could make her feel as though no care was shown. It said it had addressed this with its officer;
• she had entered into a new tenancy with her landlord, and it had to investigate whether she had done so prematurely;
• it had considered her homeless applications in line with its Policy and considered her household needs. It was working with her to support her relieve her homelessness, which would normally be through private rented accommodation;
• its homelessness service could not provide secure socially rented accommodation. This could only be provided be through its housing register. It explained it had correctly closed her previous housing register application in line with its Policy when Miss K made her homeless application; and
• it had not found any evidence its housing officer was rude or unprofessional in her communication with Miss K but had discussed her concerns with the officer.
43. Following my enquiries to the Council and call with Miss K, I understand:
• Miss K is still in her original private rented accommodation and the possession process is ongoing with the courts; and
• the Council said it needed Miss K’s identity documents when she applied for homelessness to confirm she was eligible for housing assistance. It did not have her details on record at the time.

Analysis and findings

Miss K’s homelessness application based on risk of violence

44. When Miss K initially told the Council she and her family were homeless in autumn 2022, it was aware this was due to a reported a risk of violence. The Council correctly placed Miss K in emergency accommodation.
45. The Council ended the emergency accommodation two days later and told her to return to her privately rented accommodation. It said this was because it had found there was no longer a risk to Miss K or her family in her home.
46. Based on the evidence available, this was a decision the Council was entitled to make. However, I have not seen evidence the Council provided Miss K a written decision which set out her review rights. This was fault, which meant she lost her opportunity to exercise her right for its decision to be reviewed.
47. Two weeks later, she again approached the Council with evidence from the Police which said she should not return to her home due to the risk of violence. This did not result in placing Miss K and her family in interim accommodation, nor did she receive a written homelessness decision from the Council.
48. I have found the Council at fault for how it handled Miss K’s homelessness application between November 2022 to February 2023. This is because the code of guidance is clear that she should have been provided with interim accommodation. In reaching my view I am conscious:
• Miss K and her family was at risk or threatened with violence which had been confirmed by the Police through its advice for her not to return home. It was therefore not reasonable for her to continue to occupy her home;
• the Council had reason to believe she may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need, which was a low burden to prove;
• while I accept the Council gave her more time to provide her documents, it should have considered information already available to it about Miss K and her family circumstances. This may have been from her housing register application, other information held in the Councils records, and her existing benefit entitlement. It should not have agreed or encouraged her to return to her home to obtain such documents as there was an identified risk for her to do so;
• I have not seen evidence the Council properly assessed how likely the risk of violence being carried out was for Miss K and her family, as this should have included obtaining information from the Police, her landlord or other services; and
• the Council had failed to keep in contact with her after December 2022 and provide her with a written homelessness decision which gave her review rights.
49. It is not possible to say when the risk of violence to Miss K and her family ended. However, it is clear Miss K still had concerns about their safety when she had returned to her home and complained to the Council in late 2022, but there were no further Police reports. I therefore found the Council’s fault caused Miss K and her family distress for having to live in unsuitable conditions with her daughter, and uncertainty about their homelessness situation until February 2023.

Miss K’s homeless application based on notice seeking possession

50. Miss K shared her landlords notices seeking possession in February and May 2023 with the Council.
51. I have not found fault in the process the Council followed to support Miss K with her homelessness application based on her landlord seeking possession of the property. This is because the evidence shows:
• the Council opened a homelessness case for Miss K as it accepted she may be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days;
• it remained in contact with her, or attempted to reach her on several occasions to obtain the necessary documents and information from her to support her with finding accommodation. It also contacted her when it had located a potential private accommodation which may be suitable for her;
• it shared its relief duty notification and personal housing plan with her, which set out how it could help and the steps Miss K should take through its ‘Find Your Own Home’ scheme;
• it spoke with Miss K or attempted to reach her after she provided her therapist letter and second notice seeking possession letters; and
• it asked Miss K to complete a suitability assessment and income & expenditure assessment. This was to enable it to help her obtain any privately rented properties it became aware of, and it subsequently passed her information to its procurement team.
52. I understand Miss K is still in her original privately rented accommodation and the court process is ongoing. Until this process is completed, and a potential eviction notice is issued, the Council was not under a duty to provide Miss K with interim accommodation or other accommodation.
53. I understand Miss K wishes for the Ombudsman to help her obtain secure social rented accommodation through the Council. However, this is not our role. The Council’s Policy is to allocate such accommodations through its Housing allocations scheme, which Miss K can reapply for. If she disagrees with the priority the Council awards her, she can ask for a review of the Council’s decision and return to the Ombudsman.

Complaints handling

54. As part of my investigation, I have also considered how the Council handled Miss K’s complaint.
55. The evidence shows the Council acknowledged and responded to her initial complaint in early 2023, which was within the timescales set out in its Complaints Policy.
56. However, when she requested for her complaint to be escalated in February 2023, it took the Council over four months to provide Miss K with its final complaint response and it failed to keep her informed about the process. This was fault, which I found caused her some further distress and uncertainty.

Other parts of Miss K’s complaint

57. Miss K complained about the Council’s housing officer’s behaviour during a call in late 2022 and a phrase used in an email. The Council did not find evidence its officer’s communication had been inappropriate.
58. I have considered the phone recording Miss K shared with me and the email’s the Council’s officer sent her. While the officer was direct at times, I have not found fault in the way the officer acted. This is because the call and emails showed the officer informed Miss K about the homelessness process and the documents needed to progress her application.
59. Miss K told the Council in her complaint that her privately rented accommodation was cold, and the heating was not working properly. I have not found the Council at fault on this point. This is because there is no evidence, she had brought this to her landlord or the Council’s attention beforehand.
60. I also found the Council was not at fault for closing Miss K’s housing register application when she made her homelessness application to the Council. This is because it told her at the time, and this was in line with its Allocations Policy. Miss K had the right to reapply to join its housing register at any time since.

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Agreed action

61. To remedy the injustice the Council caused to Miss K and her family, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise in writing to Miss K for the Council’s failure to properly consider her homeless application and provide her and her family with interim accommodation in November 2022, including its delayed complaints handling;
2. pay Miss K £750 to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty its faults caused her and her family; and
3. pay Miss K a further £250 to acknowledge the unnecessary time and trouble she had to pursue her complaint.
62. Within three months of the final decision the Council should also:
1.  
2.  
3.  
4. provide training to its housing officers responsible for considering homeless applications. This is to ensure all officers have a clear understanding of its duties under the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance in circumstances where an applicant may be at risk or threatened with violence; and
5. remind its officers and managers responsible for responding to complaints to adhere to the Council’s Complaints Policy. This is to ensure it respond to complaints within agreed timescales, it keeps complainants informed if there are delays in the process and provides a new date for when its respond will be received.
63. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

64. There was fault which caused an injustice. The Council has agreed with my recommendations, it is on this basis I have complete my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman