Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her housing situation after she received an eviction notice. We found the Council at fault for not finding interim accommodation when it should have and for delays in accepting the relief duty to her. The Council has provided Ms X with an apology and a symbolic payment to recognise her distress. We are satisfied this is appropriate to remedy the personal injustice caused and the Council has also taken action to prevent future recurrence of the faults.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council:
1. did not offer appropriate accommodation in 2020 for her family;
2. did not properly consider a later change in circumstances in 2021 which led to overcrowding with no decision letter about her banding in 2022; and
3. It has also failed to arrange interim accommodation when it should have after she received an eviction notice in 2023.
2. This has caused the family significant distress and frustration for a notable period of time.

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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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) 
5. 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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What I have and have not investigated

6. Parts a) and b) of Ms X’s complaint refers to housing decisions made and events between 2020 and 2022. This is more than 12 months before complaining to us. Paragraph 3 refers to our general position on late complaints. I consider it would have been reasonable for Ms X to have complained about these matters sooner. There are no good reasons to investigate them now.
7. My investigation will consider part c) of Ms X’s complaint from 2023 onwards when she contacted the Council about the eviction notice she received.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I discussed the complaint with Ms X and considered her views.
9. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its written responses and information it provided.
10. Ms X and the Council now have an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and administrative background

Homelessness

11. 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.
12. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help the applicants to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. This is the prevention duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
13. The steps the Council has identified should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
14. 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. This is the relief duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
15. 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. This is the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Duty to arrange interim accommodation

16. 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)
17. The Homelessness Code of Guidance makes it clear it is highly unlikely to be reasonable for an applicant to continue to occupy a property beyond the date on which the court has ordered them to leave the property and give possession to the landlord.
18. The Code of Guidance says housing authorities should ensure homeless families and vulnerable individuals who are owed a section 188 interim accommodation duty or section 193(2) main housing duty are not evicted through the enforcement of an order for possession due to failure by the authority to make suitable accommodation available to them.

What happened – summary of key relevant events

19. At the start of April 2023, Ms X received a Section 21 eviction notice from her landlord. It expired in early June 2023.
20. Shortly after expiration, Ms X rang the Council asking for help for her and her children. She completed a contact form.
21. A week later, in mid-June 2023, the Council responded. It accepted the prevention duty as it was satisfied she was threatened with homelessness. It asked Ms X to provide relevant documents and it would support her with securing alternative accommodation in the private sector.
22. At this point, Council records show Ms X had said the landlord had agreed to allow her to remain in the property for a further three to four months.
23. In September 2023, Ms X updated the Council with a court letter she received for a possession hearing. The Council tried to call Ms X. It sent her an email asking for documents in support of her application.
24. At the start of November 2023, the Council tried to call Ms X. It sent another email to Ms X asking for documents. Ms X provided them. A week later, Ms X sent the Council a copy of the possession order the court had issued. It said she needed to vacate the property by mid-November.
25. Ms X then made a formal complaint, stating the Council had not helped her despite being aware of the eviction notice and now the possession order. She said the Council had told her on a call to remain in the property until evicted by bailiffs and it had not arranged suitable accommodation for her and her household.
26. In mid-December, the Council responded at Stage One. It said the prevention duty to her had ended and she was now owed the relief duty. It would support her with finding accommodation and assess whether she was owed the interim accommodation duty.
27. In February 2024, the Council sent a Stage Two response to Ms X’s complaint after she escalated it. It noted her landlord had proceeded with an eviction date for bailiffs to arrive in early April 2024. It would try to help her with finding a private rented property.

Events after Ms X’s complaint to us

28. In early April 2024, the Council sent Ms X formal notification it had accepted the relief duty to her. On the day of her eviction, it then provided interim accommodation to Ms X.
29. In mid-June 2024, after reviewing the case and noting the delays with it, the Council accepted the main duty to Ms X.
30. She is now in temporary accommodation, and she is able to bid for longer term accommodation on the housing register.

The Council’s response to my enquiries

31. In response to my enquiries, the Council accepted:
• it had relied on the extended period of stay offered by her landlord and that it did not provide temporary accommodation to her until the bailiff’s warrant. It said it should have made further enquiries with the landlord about their intentions;
• It said it should have discussed temporary accommodation with Ms X as she had a priority need with children and should not have expected her to remain in the property until the eviction date;
• It had delayed with issuing the relief duty notice to Ms X and reviewing her Personalised Housing Plan at that stage; and
• it did not follow the correct process or act in line with the Homelessness Code of Guidance.
32. We upheld a decision against the Council for a complaint with a similar issue in July 2023. We recommended the Council to review the approach it took when a homeless applicant is facing eviction and the point at which it will offer accommodation. I asked the Council what learning it took from this previous decision, given this was made before some of the events in Ms X’s case.
33. The Council accepted regular refresher training is important and noted there had been significant turnover of staff within its homelessness service. As a result, it did not follow correct procedures in Ms X’s case. It apologised for this. It had issued a management instruction to all staff to remind them of correct lawful processes. It had also used Ms X’s complaint as a case study and training opportunity for the wider team.
34. The Council said since Ms X’s complaint to us, it had sent her a letter of apology and offered £1,000 to recognise her distress. Ms X said she accepted this.

Analysis

Fault causing injustice

35. I appreciate the Council’s honest and transparent acknowledgement of fault with how it handled Ms X’s case. It did not act in line with the Code of Guidance which says it is “highly unlikely” to be reasonable for an applicant to continue to occupy a property beyond the date of a possession order (November 2023 in Ms X’s case). The Council failed to act on this. Also, despite having reason to believe Ms X was in priority need due to her children, it failed to offer her interim accommodation at this point until the day Ms X was evicted. This is fault.
36. There also appeared to be a lack of communication with Ms X about her ongoing situation and I also cannot see the Council actively tried to make enquiries with her landlord at the time. The Council delayed with formally writing to Ms X to accept the relief duty, despite saying it would in its Stage One complaint response in December 2023. It took four months to do this. This is fault.
37. These faults caused significant frustration, uncertainty, and distress to Ms X about her housing situation.

Personal remedy and service improvements

38. I also welcome the Council acknowledged these faults and recognised high staff turnover may have contributed to this. It has taken steps to prevent future recurrence of these. I consider the written reminders and the use of this specific complaint as a case study for a wider training session is suitable and proportionate. I would hope the Council may consider carrying out refresher training on this topic periodically in the future. The Council says it has taken this on board.
39. During my investigation, the Council also provided a symbolic payment to Ms X to remedy her personal injustice. She accepted this. I have taken into account our published Guidance on Remedies. The symbolic amount of £1,000 exceeds the higher end of our general recommended amount.
40. In light of the above, I consider the actions the Council has since carried out are appropriate, and I have not made any further recommendations.

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Final decision

41. I found fault with the Council which caused injustice to Ms X. During my investigation, the Council has satisfactorily remedied the injustice caused. Therefore, I do not consider it necessary to make further recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman