Summary: The Council was at fault for failing to recognise Ms X was homeless when she approached from a refuge. It took too long to accept the main housing duty. Ms X spent 13 weeks too long in unsuitable Bed and Breakfast. The Council communicated poorly and took five months to respond to Ms X’s complaint. These faults caused Ms X significant injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy by apologising, making payments to Ms X, and acting to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her homeless application after she fled domestic abuse. She says the Council:
1. took too long to progress her case and delayed accepting the relief duty and the main housing duty;
2. failed to provide suitable interim or temporary accommodation;
3. communicated poorly;
4. delayed processing her application to join the housing register; and
5. delayed responding to her complaint.
2. As a result, Ms X and her children remained homeless and living in refuge accommodation and she experienced avoidable 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 considered the complaint and the information Ms X provided.
6. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
7. I referred to the Ombudsman's Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
8. Ms X and the organisation 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

Homelessness law and guidance

9. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
10. 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)
11. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help them to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. This is called the prevention duty. 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. 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 usually lasts 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
13. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
14. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
15. 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)
16. If, at the end of the relief duty, 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. This is called the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
17. After completing inquiries, the council must give the applicant a decision in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons.  All letters must include information about the right to request a review and the timescale for doing so. (Housing Act 1996, section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance 18.32 and 18.33)

What happened

18. Ms X and her children fled domestic abuse from her ex-partner. She went to live in a refuge.
19. In September 2022, Ms X made a homeless application to the Council. She said she was living in a women’s refuge.
20. The Council arranged a telephone assessment with Ms X a month later. The records show the Council decided Ms X was not homeless because the refuge had not asked her to leave.
21. In November, the refuge sent further information to the Council about Ms X’s case.
22. In mid-December, the Council accepted the prevention duty to Ms X. The Council accepted the relief duty in February 2023.
23. In July, Ms X’s keyworker at the refuge asked the Council for an update on her case. There is no evidence the Council responded to this email.
24. In September, Ms X called the Council for an update. She says the Council told her the officer allocated to her case had changed. The same day, Ms X’s keyworker emailed the Council. They pointed out that Ms X had been in the refuge for over a year despite the licence agreement being for only three months. The keyworker asked the Council to make a decision about the main housing duty. There is no evidence the Council responded to this email.
25. A week later, the Council told Ms X’s keyworker it would arrange an appointment with Ms X within a week. Ms X says she was never invited to an appointment.
26. In mid-September, Ms X applied to join the Council’s housing register.
27. Ms X complained to the Council in October. She complained about the lack of communication from the Council and delay progressing her homelessness and housing register applications.
28. In November, the new case officer spoke to Ms X and advised her that she needed a letter from the refuge ending her accommodation there to progress the case. The Council offered Ms X interim accommodation in a B&B which Ms X declined.
29. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint the same day. It:
• Apologised for the lack of communication from the officers assigned to her case
• Explained that because of the delay in her homeless application, it had been reallocated to the team dealing with its backlog. It apologised for the lack of communication explaining the change in officer.
• Said it had delays of up to four months processing applications to the housing register but that if it accepted the main housing duty, it would backdate her application.
30. Ms X accepted an offer of interim accommodation on 15 November 2023. This was in B&B accommodation outside the Council’s area. The B&B had no cooking facilities.
31. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two in late November.
32. In December, Ms X’s keyworker asked the Council when it would make a decision about the main housing duty. There is no evidence the Council responded to this email.
33. The Council accepted the main housing duty to Ms X at the end of February 2024. It provided self-contained temporary accommodation at the end of March.
34. The Council responded to Ms X’s stage two complaint in March 2024. It apologised for the delay progressing her homeless application.

My findings

35. I set out my findings on the complaint in the order they appear in paragraph one.

Delay

36. The Council decided Ms X was not homeless in October 2022 and then accepted the prevention duty in December. This was fault. Refuge accommodation is a temporary place of safety and is not reasonable to continue to occupy in the medium or long term. (Homeless Code of Guidance 6.39 and Moran v Manchester CC [2009] UKHL 36)
37. Therefore, Ms X was homeless when she applied in September 2022. The Council should have accepted the relief duty by the date it assessed her in October, at the latest. It should therefore have accepted the main housing duty by December 2022. It did not do so until February 2024. This delay of 14 months was fault.
38. The Council’s fault caused Ms X significant and avoidable injustice. She remained in refuge accommodation without any duty owed for longer than she should have. This caused her avoidable uncertainty and distress. The delay accepting duties delayed Ms X’s access to her statutory rights of review and appeal. This is an injustice.
39. The Council has a significant backlog of cases awaiting a decision about the main housing duty. We have made findings and recommendations about this on another case (23 006 138 ) and so I will not repeat them here. At the time of its response to my enquiries, the backlog had reduced from 450 in April 2024 to 392 in June 2024.

Interim and temporary accommodation

40. Ms X was homeless while living in the refuge. However, it was suitable accommodation for her in the short term. Therefore, the Council did not immediately need to provide interim accommodation in September 2022. However, the evidence from the refuge was that Ms X only had a three-month licence. This ended in October 2022. At this point, Ms X relied on the goodwill of the refuge in allowing her to continue to live there. The Council should have offered Ms X interim accommodation in October 2022. It did not do so until November 2023. This delay of 11 months was fault.
41. However, this did not cause Ms X a significant injustice because she remained in suitable accommodation at the refuge. This was more suitable than the B&B accommodation it is likely the Council would have provided. That said, the Council’s delay meant Ms X continued to take up a refuge place. This meant it was not available to other families in urgent need.
42. When she left the refuge in November 2023, the Council provided B&B accommodation. B&B should only be used for households with children as a last resort and then for no more than six weeks. I accept the Council’s evidence that B&B was all it had available at the time. However, Ms X lived in the B&B for 19 weeks. This was 13 weeks too long and was fault.
43. This caused her avoidable frustration, distress, and expense.
44. The Council provided self-contained temporary accommodation in March 2024. Ms X has a statutory right to review the suitability of this accommodation which it is reasonable for her to use if she considers the property unsuitable.

Communication

45. The evidence shows repeated poor communication with both Ms X and her keyworker:
• The Council failed to respond to at least four emails from the keyworker
• The Council asked Ms X and the keyworker to provide copies of documents she had already provided
• No one told Ms X when her allocated housing officer changed
46. The Council’s poor communication was fault and it caused Ms X and her keyworker avoidable frustration.
47. The Council acknowledged and apologised for this poor communication in its stage one complaint response, which is welcome.

Housing register application

48. Ms X applied to join the housing register in September 2023. The Council did not process her application until March 2024. The Ombudsman expects Councils to deal with applications in eight weeks. The Council’s delay of four months was fault.
49. The Council has backdated Ms X’s priority to December 2022, when it accepted the prevention duty. This was fault. It failed to take into account its own delay progressing its homelessness duties. Ms X’s application should be backdated to September 2022.
50. It is unlikely the delay prevented Ms X from securing social housing. The current wait for a property of the size Ms X needs is an average of seven years. However, it caused her avoidable frustration and uncertainty, which is an injustice.

Complaint handling

51. The Council’s policy says it will respond to stage two complaints within 20 working days. It took the Council five months (89 working days) to respond to Ms X’s stage two complaint. The Council’s delay of 69 days was fault.
52. Ms X experienced further avoidable frustration and time and trouble because of the delay responding to her complaint.

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Agreed action

53. To remedy the injustice to Ms X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology
• Backdate Ms X’s application for social housing to 21 September 2022
• Pay Ms X £150 a week for the 13 weeks she spent in B&B beyond the six-week limit, for a total of £1,950
• Pay Ms X a further £750 in recognition of her significant and avoidable distress, uncertainty, frustration, and time and trouble.
54. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
55. We have made a significant number of recommendations to improve the Council’s service in this area in the last 12 months. I have not repeated those here.
56. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Remind relevant staff that refuge accommodation is not reasonable to continue to occupy beyond the short term and that therefore people living in refuges are homeless for the purposes of part 7 of the Housing Act 1996.
• Ensure any changes in allocated housing officer are communicated to the applicant promptly, including contact details for the new officer.
57. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within eight weeks of my final decision.

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Final decision

58. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman