Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s decision on her homelessness application and that it did not help her to store her belongings when she moved into temporary accommodation. We find the Council at fault for failing to consider if it owed Miss X a duty to prevent loss or damage to her property. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X, make a payment to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused, and act to prevent recurrence.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s decision on her homelessness application and that it did not help her to store her belongings when she was in temporary accommodation. Miss X says this has caused her real stress, meant she had to leave belongings behind when she moved, and has resulted in some of her belongings becoming damaged.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), 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. Miss X has said she is unhappy with the way the Council decided on her homelessness application. When the Council made its decision, Miss X had the right to appeal this via the county court.
6. When there is a statutory right of appeal, we will not normally investigate a complaint about the matter.
7. I have not investigated Miss X’s complaint about how the Council decided on her homelessness application because it was reasonable for her to use her statutory right to appeal to the courts.
8. I have investigated how the Council responded to Miss X’s request for assistance to store her belongings.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I spoke to Miss X about her complaint and considered information she provided. I also considered information received from the Council.
10. Miss X 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

Law and guidance

11. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help the applicants to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
12. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
13. 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)
14. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of decisions on homelessness duties. The review must be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision and who is more senior to the original decision maker. The reviewing officer needs to consider any information relevant to the period before the decision was made (even if only obtained afterwards) as well as any new relevant information the council has obtained since the decision. (The Homelessness (Review Procedure etc.) Regulations 2018, Homelessness Code of Guidance Chapter 19)
15. Where the council owes or has owed certain housing duties to an applicant, it must protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged. A council may make a reasonable charge for storage and reserve the right to dispose of the property if it loses contact with the applicant. (Housing Act 1996, section 211, Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 20)

What happened

16. The Council had accepted a homeless prevention duty to Miss X. In August 2022, as Miss X was due to be evicted from private rented accommodation the following month, the Council ended this duty and accepted a homeless relief duty to her.
17. Miss X emailed her MP, copying the Council in, to explain she was about to be made homeless and needed to know where she would be housed and where to store her belongings. The Council responded to let Miss X know who her case worker was and to explain the next steps for finding housing but did not refer to her belongings.
18. Miss X then spoke to her caseworker and was told she would be placed in temporary accommodation while the Council considered her case. As she was moving to a smaller property, Miss X emailed her caseworker asking them to let her know where she could store her belongings. The caseworker responded to say the Council could not assist Miss X with storage and she would need to sort that out herself.
19. Miss X has said that when she moved into temporary accommodation, in September 2022, she had to leave a wardrobe and a dishwasher behind. Miss X has said she was able to leave some of her personal belongings in a family member’s shed, but these have now been ruined by mould.
20. Once Miss X was in temporary accommodation, the Council carried out a variety of checks, including medical and financial. It wrote to Miss X in February 2023 to explain it believed she had become voluntarily homeless by failing to pay rent at her private rented accommodation when this was affordable for her. The Council told Miss X it had decided it no longer owed her a homeless duty, but that she could request a review of this decision.
21. Miss X asked the Council to review its decision, and, in March 2023, the Council confirmed it was not satisfied it considered all relevant circumstances and withdrew its previous decision, reinstating the duties it owed to Miss X.
22. In April 2023, a solicitor working on Miss X’s behalf wrote to the Council. They said the Council had failed in its duty to take reasonable steps to prevent loss or damage to Miss X’s property. The Council responded to this letter to explain it had no reason to believe there was a risk of loss or damage to Miss X’s belongings when she moved into temporary accommodation. The Council offered to assess whether it could assist Miss X with storage, but says this offer was not taken up.
23. In May 2023, the Council assessed Miss X’s temporary accommodation and decided this would not be suitable for her in the long term. The Council said alternative arrangements would be explored to secure Miss X a suitable property with a tenancy agreement she could manage.
24. In August 2023, the Council made Miss X an offer of accommodation it felt was suitable for her needs. Miss X accepted this and moved into the new property.
25. In response to our enquiries the Council accepted its email regarding Miss X’s belongings before she moved to temporary accommodation could have been more helpful. However, it says that was more than two weeks before Miss X moved, and she did not respond in that time to say she could not arrange her own storage. The Council said it had no reason to believe Miss X’s belongings were at risk and so it was not under a duty to act. The Council also said Miss X did not respond asking the Council to assess the situation after it offered to in response to her solicitor, so it has not been able to progress the matter from that point.

Analysis

26. The information I have seen shows Miss X asked the Council where she could store her belongings twice before she moved into temporary accommodation. At this point the Council had accepted it owed Miss X a relief duty, so it also had a duty to protect her property if there was a risk it may be lost or damaged.
27. The Council ought to have been aware from Miss X’s emails that there may be a risk to her belongings when she moved and explored whether it needed to offer assistance here. However, there is no evidence the Council ever considered or offered to consider whether it owed a duty to Miss X. The only response I can see from the Council was to tell Miss X that it could not assist her, and she would need to sort storage out herself. Failure to explore its duty to take reasonable steps to prevent loss or damage to Miss X’s property is fault.
28. I cannot say the Council would have agreed to help make arrangements to store Miss X’s belongings even if it had properly considered its duty. For this reason, I could not find the Council responsible for any lost or damaged belongings. However, failing to offer to assess the situation at the time would have caused uncertainty around what should have happened, which is injustice.
29. The Council has said there were two weeks between it telling Miss X it could not help her to store her belongings and when she moved into temporary accommodation, in which time she could have asked the Council for help again. However, the Council’s response to Miss X did not invite further contact from her if she could not arrange storage. It just said the Council could not assist with storage and Miss X would need to sort that herself. I find the Council’s response gave Miss X no reason to know she could ask it for help again if she could not find storage.
30. While the Council did offer to explore its duty to take reasonable steps to prevent loss or damage to Miss X’s property following a letter from her solicitor, this was around seven months after Miss X needed to find storage. By that point her belongings were already lost and damaged, so I do not find it unusual that Miss X did not follow up and ask the Council to consider this further.

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Agreed action

31. To remedy the injustice identified above, the Council has agreed to carry out the following actions within one month:
• Provide Miss X with a written apology for the injustice identified above
• Pay Miss X £250 to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused by the failure to consider its duty to prevent loss or damage to her belongings when she asked it to in August 2022
• Remind staff dealing with homeless cases of the importance of exploring the Council’s duty under the Housing Act 1996, section 211, whenever an applicant asks about storing their belongings
32. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

33. I find the Council at fault for failing to consider its duty to take reasonable steps to prevent loss or damage to Miss X’s property. The Council accepted my recommendations, and I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman