Summary: Miss X complains that the Council delayed in offering suitable temporary accommodation and in dealing with her complaints of disrepair. The Council is at fault as it delayed in assessing the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation and delayed in offering suitable temporary accommodation. The Council has not taken sufficient action to deal with disrepair at Miss X’s temporary accommodation. The faults by the Council have caused distress to Miss X and caused her to live in unsuitable temporary accommodation for longer than necessary. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice to Miss X by apologising and making a payment of £800 to her for the distress caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains:
1. That the temporary accommodation provided by the Council is unsuitable as it suffers from mould and damp, has infestations of pests and does not have enough bedrooms for her family’s needs.
2. The Council delayed in dealing with her request for the suitability of her property to be reviewed.
3. An officer made inappropriate remarks to her and contacted her at an inappropriate time.
4. The Council delayed in offering alternative temporary accommodation despite deciding her temporary accommodation is unsuitable.
5. The Council did not deal with her reports of disrepair and pests at the property

Miss X considers that as a result she has lived with disrepair and in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary which has caused significant distress to her.

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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. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
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 information provided by Miss X;
• Discussed the issues with Miss X;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered the information provided;
• Invited Miss X and the Council to comment on the draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and administration

6. 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)
7. 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)
8. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferable, and unqualified. Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601
9. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the
   the suitability of accommodation offered to the applicant after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
10. 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)
11. Councils must complete reviews of the suitability of accommodation following a decision within eight weeks of the date of the review request. If the applicant wishes to challenge the review decision, or if a council takes more than eight weeks to complete the review, the applicant may appeal on a point of law to the County Court (Housing Act 1996, sections 202 and 204)
12. Councils must notify an applicant in writing of their decision on the review. A council must also notify the applicant of the reasons for their decision where it confirms the original decision on any issue against the interests of the applicant. (Housing Act 1996, section 203, Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 19.29)

What happened

13. The following is a summary of the key facts relevant to my consideration of the complaint. It does not include everything that has happened.

Background

14. Some years ago, the Council accepted the main housing duty and placed Miss X and her child in two bedroom temporary accommodation. In September 2023 Miss X contacted the Council as she’d had a baby and considered the property was not suitable for two children. At the same time Miss X sent emails to the Council raising concerns about mould in the property and an infestation of cockroaches and mice. Miss X later raised complaints about her boiler not working.

Suitability

15. In October 2023 Miss X made a complaint about the suitability of her property. The Council referred Miss X for a rehousing assessment which it carried out in late October 2023. In response to Miss X’s complaint the Council said Miss X’s accommodation was suitable. It also said an officer would write to her with a decision that she could formally review.
16. In early January 2024, the Council wrote to Miss X to notify her of its decision that her accommodation was suitable. The Council said the temporary accommodation had sufficient bedrooms for her and her children. It also considered the pest problem could be treated. The Council notified Miss X that she could request a review of its decision that the property was suitable.
17. Miss X requested a review on the same day. The Council completed the review in early March 2024 and concluded Miss X’s property was unsuitable. The Council did not give reasons for its decision in the letter. It added Miss X to its temporary accommodation transfer list.
18. The Council notified Miss X of her right to appeal to the county court if she considered the decision to be wrong. In the covering email the Council explained that the property was unsuitable due to pest and chronic disrepair issues. It did not consider the property to be unsuitable due to the number of bedrooms. The Council would therefore offer Miss X another two bedroom property and she could seek a review of the suitability of the alternative temporary accommodation when offered.
19. Miss X’s social worker contacted the Council to ask officers to meet with Miss X to explain what would happen next. The Council did not reply so the social worker sent a further email. The Council did not reply to this email. In response to my enquiries the Council has apologised for not responding to the emails. It has said that that it would not have arranged a meeting as it could have provided information on the next steps by telephone.
20. The Council offered alternative temporary accommodation to Miss X in mid-June 2024. I understand Miss X refused the offer as she did not consider it to be suitable. Miss X’s social worker sent an email to the Council challenging the suitability of the offer.

Pests and disrepair

21. The Council wrote to Miss X’s landlord in early November 2023 asking them to treat the pest infestations and carry out works to prevent them returning. It also notified Miss X of the action it was taking. The Council wrote again to the landlord in January 2024 as it did not have a record that the works had been carried out. The Council also asked Miss X to confirm that the works had been carried out. The Council has said there are records on file to show the landlord completed the repairs but it has not provided this evidence.

Complaints

22. Miss X made a number of further complaints about the suitability of her accommodation and the pests and disrepair, including about her boiler not working properly. The Council advised Miss X that the complaints process could not be used to challenge the suitability of her accommodation. It also advised Miss X that it would write to the landlord about the boiler.
23. Miss X also complained about an officer making inappropriate remarks and contacting her outside of office hours. The Council did not uphold her complaint. It explained the officer was working outside of officer hours to complete the rehousing assessment. The Council offered a payment of £100 to acknowledge the delay in dealing with her complaint.
24. Miss X has continued to report disrepair at her temporary accommodation to the Council.

Analysis

Delay in dealing with Miss X’s concerns about the suitability of her temporary accommodation.

25. On balance, I consider the Council delayed in assessing and issuing a decision in writing to Miss X on the suitability of her accommodation. Miss X raised concerns about the suitability of her temporary accommodation in September 2023. The Council took nearly two months to carry out the rehousing assessment and another two months to issue the decision. The Council let the matter drift and this is fault. The delay caused distress to Miss X.

Officer contacting Miss X outside of office hours

26. The Council has explained the reasons why an officer contacted her outside of office hours which was to complete the rehousing assessment. This is not fault. I cannot know, even on balance, if the officer made inappropriate remarks when carry out the assessment as I have no means of establishing what was said.

Council’s decision that Miss X’s temporary accommodation is unsuitable

27. One of Miss X’s grounds for review was that she needed three bedrooms. The Council notified Miss X that it did not consider her temporary accommodation to be unsuitable due to the number of bedrooms. The Council did not explain she could appeal against this decision in the covering email. Instead, the Council told her she could seek a review of the suitability of further temporary accommodation if she considered she required more than two bedrooms. This is fault. The Council should have included this information in the decision letter as it was a decision against her interests and she would have had the right to appeal to the county court. I cannot know, even on balance, if Miss X would have appealed or the outcome of an appeal. But the Council’s fault meant Miss X lost the opportunity to appeal against the Council’s decision.
28. The Council decided Miss X’s temporary accommodation was unsuitable due to pests and chronic disrepair in early March 2024. It did not offer alternative temporary accommodation until mid June 2024. We are mindful of the challenges faced by councils in procuring temporary accommodation. But the Council’s duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation is immediate. The Council has not provided evidence to show the efforts made to find Miss X suitable temporary accommodation or how she was prioritised according to its temporary accommodation transfer policy. The Council’s failure to meet its duty in providing suitable temporary accommodation to Miss X from March 2024 is fault.
29. As a result, Miss X has lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation for two and half months longer than necessary. In these circumstances our guidance on remedies recommends a payment between £150 to £350 per month for every month a person is deprived of suitable accommodation as a result of fault by the Council. I consider a payment of £200 per month is appropriate and proportionate as Miss X and her children have had to live in a property with disrepair for longer than necessary.
30. The Council failed to respond to Miss X’s social worker’s request to discuss the next steps following its decision that her temporary accommodation was unsuitable. This is fault. The Council may not have agreed to a meeting but it missed the opportunity to inform Miss X of the next steps which will have caused frustration and uncertainty to her.
31. The Council offered alternative temporary accommodation to Miss X in mid June 2024 which she has refused. I note Miss X’s social worker challenged the suitability of the offer. The Council should consider this to be a review request if it has not already done so.

Miss X’s complaints of pests and disrepair

32. On balance, I consider the Council has not taken sufficient action to deal with Miss X’s concerns about pests and disrepair. The Council’s records note Miss X first reported her concerns in September 2023 but the Council did not act on her concerns for two months. The Council has said the landlord completed the works to eradicate and prevent pests but has not provided evidence to show this is the case. There is no evidence to show the Council dealt with Miss X’s concerns about mould or wrote to the landlord about her boiler not working properly. This is fault which will have caused uncertainty to Miss X. She cannot know if the Council could have taken action to address these issues and improve her living conditions while she waited for an offer of alternative temporary accommodation.
33. Miss X has said she reported pests before September 2023. I do not know if this is the case or if there is fault by the Council in how it dealt with her reports. But it is not proportionate to investigate this matter further as the resources required to do so outweigh what I could achieve for Miss X.
34. During the course of this investigation Miss X has raised a number of other disrepair issues including her boiler leaking which has caused her to incur a large water bill and problems with the electricity and gas supplies. These are new issues so they are outside the scope of this investigation. But the Council should inspect the property to see if there are any repairs it can undertake while Miss X seeks a review of the suitability of the offer of alternative temporary accommodation.
35. The Council acknowledged that it delayed in dealing with Miss X’s complaint about the officer contacting her outside of office hours. The Council’s remedy of £100 is appropriate and proportionate to acknowledge the distress caused by the delay.

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Agreed action

36. That the Council will:
1. Send a written apology to Miss X for the distress, uncertainty and lost opportunity caused by the faults identified above. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
2. Make a symbolic payment of £500 to Miss X to acknowledge she has lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation for two and half months longer than necessary. If the Council finds the offer of alternative temporary accommodation of 19 June 2024 was unsuitable then it should also make a payment of £200 per month to Miss X from the offer date until it offers suitable temporary accommodation.
3. Make a symbolic payment of £300 to Miss X to acknowledge the distress caused by failing to take sufficient action to deal with her complaints of disrepair at the property.
4. If it has not already done so, consider Miss X’s social worker’s challenge to the suitability of the offer as a request for a review.
5. Inspect Miss X’s property to identify if the Council can arrange or carry out any repairs to improve Miss X’s living conditions while it considers Miss X’s social worker’s request for a review of the suitability of the offer of temporary accommodation.
6. By training or other means, ensure officers notify an applicant of the reasons for findings that do not go in an applicant’s favour in the review decision letter.
37. The Council should carry out the actions at a) to c) and e) within one month and the action at d) and f) within two months of my final decision. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

Fault causing injustice to Miss X.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman