Summary: The Council was at fault for the time taken to move Ms X into suitable accommodation. This caused injustice as Ms X has remained in accommodation which was unsuitable for her. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to recognise the time she spent in unsuitable accommodation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council left her in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, 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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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have not investigated events prior to February 2023, as Ms X already had these matters investigated in a previous Ombudsman complaint.
6. I have not investigated the Council’s response to Ms X’s concerns about disrepair in the property as she has an ongoing disrepair claim against the Council.

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How I considered this complaint

7. As part of this investigation I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information received in response. I sent a draft of this decision to the Council and Ms X and considered comments received in response.

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. 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). (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
9. 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 temporary accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
10. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
11. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is an ongoing duty. The council must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.8)
12. Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. It should only be used as a last resort in an emergency and then for the shortest time possible. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.24 and from 3 April 2018 17.30)
13. 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. B&B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and from 3 April 2018 Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.32)

What happened

14. Ms X was homeless and the Council decided it owed her the main housing duty. Ms X moved into temporary accommodation with her children in September 2021.
15. In March 2023, the Council reviewed the suitability of Ms X’s temporary accommodation. This was following a previous Ombudsman decision. The Council decided Ms X’s temporary accommodation was unsuitable on the basis of a Pharoah Ant infestation which had not been treated and the fact it had been unable to establish the problems with the roof of Ms X’s property.
16. In April 2023, the Council placed Ms X onto its temporary accommodation transfer list.
17. Ms X complained to the Council in late May 2023, as she had not heard anything about being moved. Ms X said she was still living in poor housing conditions.
18. Ms X said she spoke with her housing officer in July 2023 who updated her file for a move.
19. In August 2023, the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint. The Council said it carried out a mould wash and inspected the roof which it hoped resolved the issues Ms X had in her property. The Council signposted Ms X to the Housing Ombudsman if she wanted to take her complaint further.
20. In October 2023, Ms X reported she was at risk of violence at her property and provided the Council with the relevant crime reference numbers. Ms X made a further complaint to the Council in early November 2023, as she had not received a response from the Council. Ms X said she was unhappy about the time it was taking to move her to alternative temporary accommodation.
21. The Council offered to move Ms X and her children to Bed and Breakfast accommodation in November 2023, however Ms X declined this.
22. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in late November 2023. The Council apologised for the time taken to move Ms X into alternative accommodation and said it was looking to allocate her something urgently. The Council said it did offer Ms X emergency Bed and Breakfast accommodation following her reports of being at risk of violence but she declined this.
23. In response to our enquiries the Council said it had offered allocated Ms X new temporary accommodation which is suitable and in a safe location. Ms X has since moved into this accommodation.

Analysis

24. After it carried out a suitability review of Ms X’s property, the Council decided the property was not suitable for Ms X and her household. The Council then placed Ms X onto its temporary accommodation transfer list in April 2023.
25. While Ms X has now been allocated new temporary accommodation it has taken the Council around eight months to do this. In response to our enquires the Council did not provide any evidence showing what steps it had taken to find Ms X suitable alternative temporary accommodation sooner. This was fault.
26. While the Council did offer to place Ms X into Bed and Breakfast accommodation in November 2023, it is unlikely that this would have been suitable as Ms X had children living with her.
27. As a result, Ms X has spent round eight months in accommodation which was unsuitable for her. Our guidance on remedies recommends a payment of between £150 and £350 per month for each month a complainant remained in unsuitable accommodation.
28. The Council was at fault for signposting Ms X to the wrong Ombudsman in its complaint response in August 2023. I do not consider this caused Ms X injustice as she contacted our service shortly after receiving her complaint response, however this could cause other complainants injustice as they may approach the Housing Ombudsman in error.

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Agreed action

29. Within one month of my final decision the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Apologise to Ms X for the time taken to move her to suitable temporary accommodation.
• Pay Ms X £1,200 to acknowledge the eight months she spent in unsuitable accommodation. This has been calculated at £150 per month.
• Issue a reminder to staff that complaints about the condition and suitability of temporary accommodation should be signposted to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, not the Housing Ombudsman.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Ms X. The Council agreed to carry out the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman