Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council dealt with her homelessness and that it placed her in unsuitable accommodation. The Council was at fault as it delayed offering Ms X interim accommodation and failed to properly consider the suitability of the accommodation it offered. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms X and provide evidence of the actions it has taken to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the way the Council dealt with her homelessness and that it placed her in unsuitable accommodation. She complained the Council failed to properly consider relevant factors including her mental health, pregnancy and that she is a victim of domestic abuse. Ms X says this has caused her significant distress.

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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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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the information provided by Ms X and have discussed the complaint with her on the telephone. I have considered the Council’s response to my enquiries and the relevant law and guidance. I have considered our guidance on remedies.
6. I gave Ms X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I have considered any comments I received in reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness law and guidance

7. 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.
8. If a council has ‘reason to believe’ someone may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it must make inquiries into what, if any, duty it owes.
9. A council must secure interim accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. Examples of applicants in priority need are:
• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age;
• care leavers; and
• victims of domestic abuse
10. 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 a maximum of 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
11. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally 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)
12. 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.
13. In assessing whether someone is homeless due to domestic abuse, councils should refer to the DASH risk assessment. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 21.21)
14. 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 interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)

What happened

15. In mid-July 2023 Ms X approached the Council as homeless. An officer assessed her application three days later. Ms X told the Council she had previously lived with family members who asked her to leave as she was pregnant. She said she was fleeing domestic abuse as her wider family had threatened her as they disapproved of her pregnancy. She provided a crime reference from the police. Ms X told the Council she had been sleeping rough and had been given one night’s accommodation by the out of hours service. A midwife wrote to the Council to confirm Ms X was pregnant and that her baby was due at the end of the year.
16. The Council wrote to Ms X that it was satisfied she was homeless and eligible for assistance and so it owed her the relief duty. It completed a personalised housing plan (PHP). The PHP noted Ms X was homeless and vulnerable. It stated the Council owed Ms X the prevention duty. Under required steps by the applicant it stated:
• sit down with your landlord or agent to talk through the reason for your homelessness and what could be done.
• search for accommodation to rent (and included relevant websites)
• contact housing benefit to chase the reassessment of your claim.
17. The first step under the required steps by the Housing options Officer was to continue to negotiate with your landlord for you to remain at the property.
18. The Council did not provide Ms X with interim accommodation. A domestic abuse charity wrote to the Council on Ms X’s behalf the following week. It set out its belief she was homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need as she was pregnant and homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse. It advised it had completed a risk assessment and assessed Ms X as at risk of ongoing domestic abuse. It advised certain areas were unsafe as Ms X had been harassed or received threats to kill. It asked the Council to explore securing interim accommodation to relieve Ms X’s current homelessness.
19. The Council asked Ms X to provide a detailed account of the perpetrators. It said it needed a written statement about the domestic abuse as part of the enquiries into her homelessness. In late July 2023 Ms X provided the Council with a statement about the domestic abuse and areas where she felt unsafe. She did not name the perpetrators. During this time Ms X was staying in accommodation provided by a council’s out of hours service on a night by night basis.
20. In early August Ms X repeatedly telephoned the Council to ask whether it had accepted her statement. She said her emergency accommodation was ending and she did not know what to do. Ms X contacted a legal charity and a representative wrote to and telephoned the Council that day to request accommodation for Ms X but it says the Council refused unless Ms X provided the names and addresses of the perpetrators of the domestic abuse. Ms X had not done this for fear of reprisals. Ms X’s representative sent a letter to the Council threatening legal action, following which the Council agreed to provide Ms X with interim accommodation. It provided Ms X with one night’s accommodation in a hotel. It then placed her in a mixed sex hostel for just under eight weeks. Ms X says she struggled with the shared facilities and suffered panic attacks.
21. Ms X’s representative complained to the Council the following week. They raised concerns about the quality of the PHP and that the Council had not provided Ms X with interim accommodation for nearly three weeks even though she was pregnant, vulnerable and a victim of domestic abuse. They said Ms X had to phone the out of hours service each night to get emergency accommodation which was in a mixed hostel where Ms X felt unsafe, choosing to sleep on a park bench one night as a result. They said the Council had not responded to the letter from the domestic abuse charity and had not considered Ms X’s personal circumstances and vulnerability.
22. In late September 2023 the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint. It considered the Council’s response was reasonable and proportionate based on Ms X’s presentation to the Council. It said staff were trained on matters of domestic abuse and it was open to the Council to make enquiries and not to rely solely on repetitious claims that afford no substance of detail in assessing the case. It did not consider the lack of interim accommodation was fault based on the evidence provided at the time.
23. In late September 2023 the Council placed Ms X in a studio flat in another Council’s area.
24. Ms X’s representative asked to take Ms X’s complaint to the next stage of the Council’s complaints procedure.
25. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at stage 2 of its complaints procedure in early November 2023. It upheld Ms X’s complaint. It accepted it should have provided her with interim accommodation and that it did not consider whether the interim accommodation it initially offered was appropriate. It accepted there were training issues it needed to address. It said it would:
• provide additional training to Housing staff to deal with victims of domestic abuse and those with disabilities with greater sensitivity. It would deliver this within six months;
• work with specialist domestic abuse organisations to develop best practice in working with victims of domestic abuse who approach with a support agency or without such representation, including reviewing and amending its procedures for assessing the suitability of accommodation and the preparations of personalised housing plans;
• apologise to Ms X; and
• pay her compensation for the distress it caused her.
26. In early November 2023 the Council ended the relief duty and accepted it owed Ms X the main housing duty as she was homeless, in priority need, not intentionally homeless and had a local connection. The studio flat where she was staying became temporary rather than interim accommodation. Ms X’s representative sought a review of the suitability of the accommodation due to its location which was in an area where Ms X may be at risk, it was not near her support network and she wanted to be in the Council’s area so she could continue with the same GP and hospital support for her pregnancy.
27. The Council moved Ms X to another address in a different council’s area the following week. Ms X again requested a suitability review. In late November 2023 a Council officer visited Ms X and reported the place was highly unsuitable for bringing a new baby into. They reported blood stains on the bathroom wall most of which Ms X had managed to clean off, the oven was not working, there were no electric sockets in the kitchen for a steriliser or microwave, the overall condition was poor and there was insufficient space for a Moses basket. Four days later the Council moved Ms X to another property which had recently been refurbished.
28. In early 2024 Ms X was offered and accepted a private rented property, ending the Council’s homelessness duty. The Council also wrote to Ms X to apologise for the distress it caused her. It paid her £250 for the distress caused to her. Ms X remained unhappy and complained to us.

Response to our enquiries

29. In response to our enquiries, the Council has confirmed that following Ms X’s complaint it has arranged compulsory refresher training on how to handle domestic abuse cases to be delivered in late April 2024. Since late March 2024 an Independent domestic violence advocate has worked with the team on a weekly basis to work one to one with Housing Advisors in the preparation of PHPs. It has also commenced work regarding the review and amendment of procedures for assessing the suitability of accommodation. It expects this work to be completed by mid May 2024.

My findings

30. The Council was under a duty to provide interim accommodation if it had reason to believe Ms X may be homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need. Reason to believe is a low bar. When Ms X first approached the Council in July 2023 it accepted she was homeless and eligible for assistance. However, it failed to properly consider whether it had reason to believe she may be in priority need. This was fault.
31. The Council applied too high a threshold in its consideration of whether it had ‘reason to believe’ Ms X was homeless because of domestic abuse. In addition, Ms X was pregnant. Had the Council properly considered her circumstances I am satisfied it would have accepted it had a duty to provide her with interim accommodation when she first approached in July.
32. The Council did not arrange interim accommodation until 17 days after she approached it. This was fault. As a result, Ms X had to source accommodation herself and she did this through a council’s out of hours service on a night by night basis, in a mixed hostel which did not meet her needs and caused her distress and panic attacks. She also slept on a bench one night due to her concerns about the accommodation.
33. The PHP erroneously referred to the Council owing Ms X the prevention duty. It included references to Ms X negotiating with her landlord when Ms X was homeless and living in emergency accommodation. The PHP was not appropriate or tailored to Ms X’s needs. This was fault and meant Ms X did not receive appropriate support to address her homelessness.
34. The Council focused too much on Ms X naming the perpetrators instead of considering all the circumstances of her case, including the information from the police and the domestic abuse charity. The charity had already done a risk assessment, which the Council should have taken into account. The Council also failed to respond to the domestic abuse charity’s request for accommodation for Ms X and failed to consider whether a female officer should interview her. This caused Ms X distress and meant she felt the Council did not believe her.
35. The Council provided Ms X with interim accommodation in a mixed hostel with shared facilities. The Council did not consider whether a mixed hostel with shared facilities was appropriate given Ms X was pregnant and a victim of domestic abuse. This was fault. The Council has a duty to provide suitable accommodation so it should have considered whether the accommodation was suitable when it first offered it to Ms X. This added to Ms X’s distress.
36. The Council provided Ms X with an alternative property, again as interim accommodation. During her stay at that property, the Council accepted it owed her the main housing duty so the property was offered as temporary accommodation. Ms X therefore had a statutory right to request a review of its suitability. When Ms X advised the Council it was not suitable due to its location, it sourced an alternative property. That was appropriate.
37. The property the Council provided to Ms X was in poor condition. Ms X sought a review of that property and the Council accepted it was unsuitable. Ms X had a right of review and used that right. However, the Council failed to ensure the property was of a satisfactory standard before Ms X moved in, with a working oven and without blood stains. This was fault and meant Ms X had to move again whilst heavily pregnant.
38. The relief duty usually lasts 56 days, at which point the Council must decide if it owes the main housing duty. In this case it took the Council 111 days before it ended the relief duty and decided it owed Ms X the main housing duty. This delayed Ms X’s right to request a statutory review of the temporary accommodation.
39. The Council accepted fault in its stage two complaint response, and it agreed to take action to improve its services. I am satisfied the actions the Council is taking will help prevent a recurrence of the faults. We will ask it to provide evidence to demonstrate it has carried out these actions. The Council also apologised to Ms X, which was appropriate. However, I am not satisfied the Council’s payment of £250 to Ms X was sufficient to acknowledge the injustice she has suffered.

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Agreed action

40. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Pay Ms X £750 in addition to the £250 it has already paid her, to acknowledge the time, trouble and distress she was put to by the Council’s faults which meant she was not suitably housed for over four months.
2. Provide evidence to show it has:
1. carried out the compulsory refresher training on how to handle domestic abuse cases; and
2. reviewed and amended its procedures for assessing the suitability of accommodation.
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

42. I have completed my investigation. There was evidence of fault by the Council which caused injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman