Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council dealt with her homelessness application. The faults included delay, failure to properly communicate, failure to provide interim/temporary accommodation, producing an incomplete Personalised Housing Plan and failure to deal with a request for reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act. A suitable remedy is agreed.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about how the Council has dealt with her homelessness application.
2. She says the Council’s failures caused distress and that she had to remain in her mother’s house even though she has asked her to leave.

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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. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

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.
7. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)

The relief duty

8. 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)

The main housing duty

9. 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).

Duty to arrange interim accommodation (section 188)

10. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188).
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. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
13. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when they consider if it is suitable for the applicant and members of their household. If a council places an applicant outside its district, it must consider, among other matters:
• the distance of the accommodation from the “home” district;
• the significance of any disruption to the education of members of the applicant’s household; and
• the proximity and accessibility to local services, amenities and transport. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012)

Equality Act

14. The Equality Act 2010 provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. It offers protection, in employment, education, the provision of goods and services, housing, transport and the carrying out of public functions.
15. The Equality Act makes it unlawful for organisations carrying out public functions to discriminate on any of the nine protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010. They must also have regard to the general duties aimed at eliminating discrimination under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities

16. The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to any body which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
17. Service providers are under a positive and proactive duty to take steps to remove or prevent obstacles to accessing their service. If the adjustments are reasonable, they must make them.
18. The duty is ‘anticipatory’. This means service providers cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use their services, but must think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need.

Key facts

19. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
20. In July 2023, Ms X’s mother asked her to leave her property. Ms X contacted the Council for housing assistance. The Council said it would need to complete a home visit to confirm her homelessness. The home visit took place just over a month later and the Council accepted the relief duty the same day.
21. The Council sent Ms X a PHP. The copy sent to me had nothing entered into the section detailing the action that should be taken. It did however, mention Ms X’s health issues including mobility problems. I am aware an updated PHP was provided over two months later which did state Ms X should be seeking a three bedroom private rented property within the Enfield area and that the Council would assist with a deposit and one months’ rent. It noted that Ms X’s son attended a special school with transportation provided and so living in the Enfield was important.
22. Ms X requested emergency accommodation the day after the first PHP was issued. The Council says it was unable to source an accessible hotel in Enfield and that it would contact her again the next week. An internal request to the Council’s housing supply team for a two or three bedroom ground floor property in Enfield was made. There is no evidence to suggest any further contact from the Council regarding interim accommodation.
23. In September 2023, Ms X asked the Council to only communicate with her in writing. I am not aware how the Council responded to this request including whether it treated this as a request for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act.
24. The Council responded to Ms X’s formal complaint on 21 September 2023. The Council accepted it had delayed in contacting Ms X and arranging the home visit, completing her homelessness assessment and providing the PHP. Ms X had mentioned the PHP included incorrect information and it asked her to provide details so it could rectify any errors. It confirmed it had medical information on file and would ensure it considered medical issues throughout the application.
25. In November and December, Ms X contacted her caseworker and sent a list of possible properties. The Council says that Ms X would need to view the properties and then let it know if she wished to proceed. Ms X explained that she could not leave the house unaided making viewings almost impossible. I have not seen anything further from the Council on this point.
26. After escalating her formal complaint, the Council provided a stage two response on 19 December 2023. It found the following:
• Advice and communication at beginning of application was poor;
• Officer changed three times causing Ms X to have to discuss her personal information repeatedly;
• Council offered interim accommodation outside its area as there were no accessible rooms in Enfield;
• No evidence Ms X was treated unfairly due to her mental health issues;
• Agreed that first PHP contained misleading information but did not consider it was fraudulent;
• Failed to reply to her complaint within the agreed timescale;
• Contact with Ms X was not of a suitable level throughout her application; and
• Available properties found by Ms X were not fully investigated by the Council.
27. The Council apologised and offered Ms X payments totalling £1,000 to recognise its failures and possible missed opportunities for her to move into suitable accommodation. Ms X says that she has not actually received this payment from the Council.
28. The Council accepted the main housing duty on 23 January 2024. The letter sent to Ms X said it had a duty to make a final offer of accommodation which could be in the private rented sector. The letter said that while it tried to find an offer of final accommodation, her current interim accommodation would become temporary accommodation as it considered it was suitable. It should be noted, the Council has to date, not provided any interim or temporary accommodation to Ms X.
29. Ms X completed and return forms for her addition onto the housing register on 8 February 2024. The Council responded just over two months later apologising for confusion regarding her addition to the housing register. The Council has awarded Ms X 200 points but she considers she should be entitled to more. It is my understanding she is currently pursuing clarification with the Council regarding her position and points on the housing register.

Analysis

30. Ms X’s complaint is about the way the Council handled her homelessness application. As detailed at paragraph 26 above, the Council has already acknowledged several faults in that process and has offered a payment to Ms X to acknowledge the impact. Below I will deal with issues in more detail.
31. The Council accepted the relief duty after carrying out a home visit and establishing that Ms X’s mother had asked her to leave. The Council then had to prepare a PHP to set out the steps both it and Ms X would take to try to resolve her homelessness. The initial PHP issued by the Council failed to include details of the steps require. This is fault. After Ms X complained, the PHP was reissued and the second version set out the steps Ms X should take but did not include details of what it would do. This is fault.
32. The Council has a duty to arrange interim accommodation during the relief stage as soon as it has reason to believe the applicant may be eligible, homeless and in priority need. The law does not say what type of accommodation it should provide but it has a duty to ensure the accommodation is suitable for the applicant and household members. In this case, the Council said it was unable to secure hotel accommodation for Ms X in its area. It offered accommodation in a different borough which Ms X said was not suitable. The second PHP issued by the Council acknowledges Ms X’s specific needs, particularly that her son has special educational needs and attends a local special school.
33. There is no evidence to show the Council made any other offers of either interim accommodation or temporary accommodation once it accepted the main housing duty. This is fault. The Council has a duty to provide interim accommodation and so should have been continually acting to find something suitable. While there may be supply issues in its area, it has not provided any information to show that it made efforts to find something suitable. A lack of supply does not mean the Council can ignore this duty and so even if it repeatedly failed to find suitable interim/temporary accommodation we would consider this to be service failure. As a result, Ms X and her family continue to live in unsuitable accommodation.
34. The Council accepts that Ms X’s caseworker has changed several times and that communication has not been of an acceptable level. It accepts that its failure to respond appropriately when Ms X provided details of private sector properties could have resulted in missed opportunities to end her homelessness. Ms X suffers from mental health issues and has provided evidence of this to the Council. The failure to provide services appropriately has caused significant distress and anxiety.
35. Due to her health issues and the Council’s failure to respond to Ms X’s enquiries appropriately, she asked the Council in September 2023 to communicate with her in writing. While Ms X did not express this as a request for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act, I consider the Council should have treated it as one. The Equality Act places an anticipatory duty on organisations to ensure its services are accessible. It should not wait until a person asks it to do something. There is nothing to suggest the Council acknowledged or acted on Ms X’s request for all communication to be in writing. It also continued to telephone Ms X despite her making this request causing her to have to repeat it. This is fault. The failure to communicate in a way that is appropriate for Ms X’s needs causes further anxiety and distress.
36. The Council has offered £1,000 to Ms X for its failings. If the Council has already paid this amount, then it can deduct this from the amounts recommended below.

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Agreed action

37. To remedy the injustice caused to Ms X as a result of the fault identified above the Council should, within one month of my final decision, take the following action:
• Apologise to Ms X;
• Make a symbolic payment of £1,800 to recognise Ms X has been in unsuitable accommodation for nine months;
• Make a symbolic payment of £200 per month for every month that Ms X remains in unsuitable accommodation;
• Make a symbolic payment of £500 to recognise Ms X’s distress and her time and trouble in pursuing this complaint;
• Use its best efforts to identify suitable temporary accommodation for Ms X and her family to move into within the Enfield area. It is acknowledged that it may not be possible to make an offer within one month;
• Take action to clarify Ms X’s entitlement and place on the housing needs register to ensure she can make bids for available properties; and
• Issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the requirements to meet reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act; the need to provide suitable interim/temporary accommodation and what to include in a PHP.
38. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
39. It is noted the Council is currently reviewing its temporary accommodation procurement methods with an objective to increase the supply of various types of housing solutions. As a result of this ongoing action, I am not making any further recommendations regarding housing supply and procurement.

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Final decision

40. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.
41.  

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman