Summary: The Council failed to keep the suitability of Miss X’s interim and temporary accommodation under review, delayed accepting the main housing duty, and communicated poorly. The Council has agreed to apologise, review the suitability of the temporary accommodation, make a payment to Miss X and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that the Council provided her with unsuitable accommodation when she became homeless.
2. Miss X also complained about poor communication with the Council and delays in the homelessness process.
3. As a result, Miss X says she remains in unsuitable accommodation which is negatively affecting the health and wellbeing of her and her children.

Back to top

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. We may investigate matters coming to our attention during an investigation, if we consider that a member of the public who has not complained may have suffered an injustice as a result. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26D and 34E, as amended)
7. 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

8. I considered the complaint and the information Miss X provided.
9. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
10. I referred to the Ombudsman's Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
11. Miss X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Homelessness law and guidance

12. 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.
13. If councils are satisfied applicants are homeless and eligible for assistance, they must take reasonable steps to secure accommodation. This is called the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing. The relief duty lasts 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
14. 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)
15. 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. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
16. 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 and temporary accommodation.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
17. Councils must assess whether accommodation is suitable for each household individually. Whether accommodation is suitable will depend on the relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.4 & 17.9)
18. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review 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 review the suitability of interim accommodation.

Housing allocations

19. 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))
20. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme. This means housing applicants can express an interest in available properties. This is called bidding.
21. The Council places applicants who qualify to join the housing register in a priority band from Band 1A (highest priority) to Band 3 (lowest priority). This priority is the first factor the Council uses to allocate a property.
22. The priority band date is the date on which the Council placed the application into the priority band. This can be different from the registration date if an applicant’s circumstances change, and they attract a higher priority band after registration. This date is important because the Council uses it to decide priority within a band. For example, if there are three bids for a property from applicants with Band 1A priority, the applicant with the oldest priority band date will be highest on the list.
23. So far as is relevant to this complaint, the Council awards Band 2A to applicants who are overcrowded or owed the main housing duty.
24. The Council’s allocations scheme says that homeless applicants who are already in Band 2A or Band 2B will keep their existing priority and date until the Council accepts a main housing duty. Once the Council accepts a main housing duty, it will change the priority date to the date of the homeless application.

What happened

25. Miss X lived with her mother, siblings, and her child in her mother’s two-bedroom property. Miss X and her child slept in the living room. Miss X had priority band 2A on the housing register for overcrowding with a priority date in 2020.
26. In June 2022, Miss X approached the Council as homeless because her mother had asked her to leave. The Council accepted the relief duty and provided Miss X with interim accommodation. She spent five weeks in a Bed and Breakfast. In July, the Council provided a one-bedroom flat on the second floor of a building with no lift. This property is within the Council’s area. Its records say it was the only suitable property available that day.
27. Miss X provided evidence to show she emailed her housing officer six times between August and October 2022. There is no evidence the Council responded to these emails. The content of Miss X’s emails included asking how to appeal the suitability of her accommodation. She said she had difficulty climbing two flights of stairs with a baby in a pushchair and shopping or other needs. She also set out details of a medical condition. She said the pain caused by this condition was made worse by carrying heavy loads up the stairs.
28. In November 2022, Miss X became pregnant with her second child.
29. Between January and March 2023, Ms X sent a further five emails to the Council asking for contact. There is no evidence the Council responded to these emails.
30. Miss X complained to the Council in May. In her complaint she said:
• She’d been in interim accommodation since July 2022 and had still yet to speak to her housing officer despite repeated calls and emails
• She was living on the second floor with no lift with a toddler and was pregnant
• She wanted to move to a ground floor property or one with a lift
31. The Council responded to her complaint in early June. It said:
• A medical assessment in October 2022 said she could live up to the second floor without a lift
• If her circumstances had changed, she could provide evidence and the Council would complete a new assessment
• The Council considered her accommodation was suitable
• She needed to provide proof of her pregnancy to her housing officer
32. Miss X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two of its process. She said living with two children under two years old would not be manageable in a second floor flat without a lift.
33. Miss X made a new request for medical priority. She set out the issues she had using the stairs and how her medical condition and pregnancy affected her. Later that month, her midwife wrote to the Council to say Miss X was struggling managing the stairs. She was pregnant and her child was under one year old. The midwife said it would be better for Ms X to live on the ground floor or in a property with a lift.
34. In early July, the third-party medical assessor used by the Council sent a report to the Council. It said Miss X could live up to the second floor without a lift or any floor if there was a lift. The Council did not send a decision to Miss X about this until mid-August. In the meantime, Miss X sent four emails to the Council asking for an update. There is no evidence the Council responded to these emails.
35. In September, Miss X asked for a review of the Council’s decision about her medical priority. The same month, the Council wrote to Miss X to say it had identified her case as part of its backlog project and would make a decision about whether it owed her the main housing duty soon.
36. The Council accepted the main housing duty at the end of September. As a result, it changed her priority date on the housing register from December 2020 to the date in June 2022 when she approached as homeless. On the same day, it wrote to Miss X with its stage two response to her complaint. It said:
• It was sorry it had taken so long to respond to her complaint. It explained staff shortages had resulted in the delay
• It considered her accommodation was suitable and met the requirements identified by the medical assessment.
• It had taken too long to make a decision on her homeless application.
37. Miss X told the Council she needed an operation to treat her medical condition. She said that while recovering, she would be unable to lift more than 10 kilograms for several weeks. She asked the Council to consider how she would manage with two children up two flights of stairs while recovering from this surgery. In October 2023, the Council’s third-party medical assessor said there was no reason in general Miss X could not use stairs. It said Miss X should consider alternative childcare or temporary housing arrangements while recovering from surgery. There is no evidence the Council wrote to Miss X with its decision following this report.

My findings

38. I have set out my findings on each part of the complaint in the order they appear in paragraph one.

Unsuitable accommodation

39. There was no fault in the Council offering Miss X the only available and suitable one bedroom property in July 2022. At that time, it had no evidence of Miss X’s medical condition and her child was very young.
40. However, the Council has a duty to keep the suitability of interim and temporary accommodation under review. The Council should have considered whether the accommodation remained suitable for Miss X when she told it about the difficulties she had with the stairs. The evidence shows the Council only considered whether Miss X had a medical need to live on the ground floor. This was fault. It failed to consider “all aspects of the accommodation in the light of the relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household.” (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.4)
41. The Council failed to consider whether the property remained suitable for Miss X after she had her second child. This was further fault.
42. I cannot say, even on balance, what the Council would have decided had it properly considered Miss X’s circumstances. However, Miss X must live with this uncertainty, which is an injustice.

Poor communication

43. In response to my enquiries, the Council accepted that its communication with Miss X was “limited” and apologised for this. The evidence shows Miss X sent at least 11 emails to the Council between July 2022 and March 2023 seeking contact with her housing officer. The Council’s failure to respond to any of these was fault. This caused Miss X avoidable frustration and uncertainty which is an injustice.
44. The Council was also at fault for delay responding to Miss X’s complaint at stage two of its process. The Council’s complaint policy says it will respond to complaints within 20 working days. It took the Council three months to respond to Miss X’s complaint. This delay of two months was fault. There is no evidence the Council kept Miss X informed of the delays. This was further fault. This caused Miss X avoidable distress and time and trouble, which is an injustice.

Delays in the homelessness process

45. In response to my enquiries, the Council accepted that it took too long to decide whether it owed Miss X the main housing duty. Having accepted the relief duty in June 2022, it should have accepted the main housing duty by mid-August 2022. It did not do so until the end of September 2023. This delay of 13 months was fault.
46. Once the Council accepted the main housing duty, Miss X had a statutory right to review the suitability of her temporary accommodation. The Council’s fault delayed Miss X’s access to her statutory rights for over year. This is a significant injustice to Miss X.
47. Miss X says that although she remained in the same priority band on the housing register, the Council changed her priority date when it accepted the main housing duty. This means Miss X’s position on the housing register has changed significantly and she has lost several years of waiting time. However, this is what the Council’s allocations scheme says will happen when it accepts a main housing duty. This means I cannot say this was fault, however unfair it may appear.

Injustice to others

48. The Council told Miss X that it identified her case as part of its project to address a backlog of cases waiting for a main housing duty decision. It is likely, therefore, that other homeless applicants have experienced injustice from the same fault.
49. In response to a draft of this decision, the Council said at its peak, the backlog was 700 cases. The Council has set up a team to address this backlog. It is currently at around 450 cases.

Back to top

Agreed action

50. To remedy the injustice to Miss X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Miss X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology
• Review the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation and write to her with a decision, setting out her rights of review and appeal.
• Pay Miss X £250 in recognition of her avoidable distress and uncertainty
• Pay Miss X £500 in recognition of the distress and missed review rights resulting from the delay accepting the main housing duty.
51. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
52. The Council should remedy complaints from others affected by the delay making a main housing duty decision in line with our published guidance on remedies and the approach in this decision.
53. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Remind relevant staff that the suitability of accommodation provided to homeless applicants must be kept under review and records kept showing decision making.
• Remind relevant staff that the suitability of interim and temporary accommodation includes more than medical suitability and should consider all the relevant needs and circumstances of the applicant.
• Provide a report to the Ombudsman showing the Council’s progress to address the backlog of cases waiting for a main housing duty decision, including the extent of the backlog. The Council should also share this decision and a copy of the report with the relevant cabinet member or scrutiny committee.
54. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within three months of my final decision.

Back to top

Final decision

55. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman