Summary: The Council failed to provide suitable accommodation when Miss B and her family were homeless. It placed the family in bed and breakfast accommodation for 32 weeks, 26 weeks over the maximum time such accommodation can be used for homeless applicants with dependent children. Then, when it provided self-contained accommodation, it failed to ensure there was heating and hot water before she moved in. The Council has agreed to make service improvements and to make a payment to Miss B to remedy her family’s injustice.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains that the Council placed her family in unsuitable accommodation when they were homeless. She says that they had to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation for over seven months which affected their health and welfare, and one of her children had to sleep alone in a separate room which was not safe and caused them significant distress.
2. Miss B also complains that the self-contained accommodation provided in December 2023 was not suitable. She says the Council failed to check that the heating and hot water was working before they moved in, and then failed to promptly carry out repairs. As a result, they had no heating or hot water at all the first night, only two small portable heaters for the next nine days, and Miss B had to pay herself for a repair to be carried out so they could have hot water. Miss B says the Council’s failings have caused her family significant distress.

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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. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council has provided; and
• given the Council and the complainant the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered any comments received.

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What I found

Relevant legislation and statutory guidance

6. 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.

The main housing duty

7. Under the main housing duty, councils must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for the applicant and their household until the duty is brought to an end, usually through the offer of a settled home. (Housing Act 1996, section 193(2))

Suitability

8. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601)
9. Applicants can ask a council to review its decision that the accommodation offered is suitable. A request for a review must be made within 21 days, or longer if allowed by the Council. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, Homeless Code of Guidance, paragraph 19.3)

Bed and breakfast accommodation

10. 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 Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 17.35)
11. When a council secures B & B accommodation for an applicant with family commitments, it should notify the application that the council will be unable to continue to secure B & B accommodation for such applicants any longer than 6 weeks, after which the authority must secure alternative, suitable accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 17.36)

Key events

12. The Council placed Miss B and her five children in bed and breakfast (B & B) accommodation in May 2023 when they became homeless. They were provided with two rooms and had access to shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.
13. Miss B says that she slept in one room with the four younger children, and her eldest child, who was 12 years old at the time, slept in the other room.
14. Miss B complained to the Council via her Councillor about the suitability of the accommodation. In the Council’s response, it said that interconnecting rooms had been provided because she was the only adult in the household. It accepted that the family had been staying in B & B accommodation for more than six weeks and said that it would move them to alternative accommodation as soon as suitable accommodation had been sourced.
15. The family remained living in B & B accommodation until 29 December, when they were moved to self-contained temporary accommodation.
16. Miss B says that the accommodation had no heating, hot water, carpets or curtains. She says that on the first night, they had to sleep in their coats because only two duvet sets were provided for the family of six.
17. Two portable heaters were provided the next day and this was the only heating the family had for nine days. They also had no hot water until 2 January when Miss B paid herself for a repair to be carried out.
18. The Council arranged for curtains to be fitted on 3 January and it explained that it did not provide carpets in temporary accommodation.

Analysis

19. The law says that B & B accommodation can only be used for households with dependent children when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. Miss B’s family were living in B & B accommodation from 22 May until 29 December 2023. The Council breached its duties under the Housing Act 1996 by failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation. This was fault.
20. When the Council placed the family in B & B accommodation, it should have informed Miss B that it could only be provided for six weeks, after which it had a duty to secure alternative, suitable accommodation. It did not do so; this was fault.
21. As the Council owed Miss B the main housing duty, it should have informed Miss B that she could request a review of the suitability of the accommodation. It did not do so; this was fault.
22. The two rooms which were provided were not interconnecting. They were the only rooms on that floor of the accommodation but the corridor could be accessed by other residents and staff. Miss B says she had to leave her door open each night because her son was scared someone may walk into his room. Miss B did not consider her son was safe, which caused her significant distress and affected her health. She says that her son had difficulty sleeping and his health and education suffered.
23. I consider the Council failed to provide suitable accommodation between 18 May and 29 December 2023. This was fault and caused Miss B and her eldest son significant distress.
24. On the day Miss B moved into the self-contained accommodation, an engineer attended to turn on and test the heating and hot water. He was unable to turn on the gas because the meter was £500 in arrears, and he needed the provider to clear the debt first. The Council should have ensured the property was in a satisfactory condition. It did not do so; this was fault. It would have been traumatic for the family to be left in a property without heating, hot water, curtains or sufficient bedding in the middle of winter. The Council’s failure to promptly resolve the situation will have caused additional distress.
25. When Miss B made a complaint to the Council on 5 January 2024, she said that she did not consider the accommodation to be suitable. The Council did not treat Miss B’s complaint as a request for a review of the suitability of her accommodation. This was fault.

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Agreed action

26. Within four weeks, the Council will take the following actions:
• Make a payment of £5600 to Miss B for the impact of being placed in unsuitable accommodation between 18 May and 29 December 2023. This figure is based on a weekly payment of £175 for 32 weeks.
• Make a payment of £300 to Miss B to recognise the significant distress the family suffered when they were left in a property with no heating, hot water or sufficient bedding.
• Reimburse Miss B for the cost of the repair, if she provides a copy of the invoice within two weeks of my final decision and the Council agrees the repair was necessary.
27. The Council says it has updated its letter templates to include and make clear the right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation. The Council will provide evidence of this within four weeks of my final decision.
28. The Council has agreed to provide evidence that all outstanding repairs have been completed. It will provide this evidence within six weeks of my final decision.
29. The Council has also agreed to take the following actions within eight weeks of my final decision:
• Carry out a review of the suitability of Miss B’s current accommodation.
• Review its procedures to ensure housing officers do not leave homeless applicants in temporary accommodation before they are satisfied that it is in a suitable condition, with functioning heating and hot water.
• Change its letter template to ensure that when the Council places a family with dependent children in bed and breakfast accommodation under the interim or main housing duty, it confirms that the Homelessness Code of Guidance states this should be limited to no more than six weeks.
30. The Council has provided us with its updated B & B elimination plan which details the actions it is taking to reduce the time families are staying in B & B accommodation, which we are continuing to monitor.
31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

32. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman