Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not provide her with emergency accommodation when she was homeless, including after she was assaulted. She also complained the Council did not help her find accommodation. Ms X was street homeless, and this affected her physical and mental health. We find the Council at fault, and this caused Ms X injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms X and improve its service.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not provide her with emergency accommodation when she was made homeless, including when she had to have surgery after being assaulted. She also complained the Council did not help her find accommodation.
2. Ms X was street homeless, and this affected her physical and mental health.

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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 information and documents provided by Ms X and the Council. I spoke to Ms X about her complaint. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
6. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below. I also considered the Ombudsman’s published guidance on remedies.

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What I found

What should have happened

Housing duties

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.

Interim and temporary accommodation

8. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
9. A council must secure accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
10. If, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
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. 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

Personalised housing plans

13. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps 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)

What happened

14. At the end of 2023, Ms X told the Council she was homeless. The Council completed an assessment and decided Ms X was not in priority need. The Council also issued Ms X a personalised housing plan.
15. In February 2024, Ms X complained to the Council. She said she had not heard from officers in weeks, despite being told they would call her back. She said the Council was not helping her.
16. In March, Ms X emailed her Housing Officer to say she had been assaulted by a family member. She had to have an operation as a result.
17. In April, the Council provided Ms X with temporary accommodation.
18. In its first complaint response, sent in April, the Council said it could not find any evidence Ms X had told the Council about the assault.
19. In its second complaint response, the Council said the Housing Officer had called Ms X to discuss the assault. It said the Officer believed this was an isolated incident, so they did not immediately refer Ms X to the appropriate housing team as a potential victim of domestic abuse.
20. The Council said it reviewed Ms X’s case and decided it should have treated Ms X as fleeing domestic abuse. It said it did not make the referral to the appropriate team within one day as it should have. The Council said due to a misunderstanding, Ms X had not been given priority as a person fleeing domestic abuse. It acknowledged it had failed to provide Ms X with appropriate housing support.
21. The Council said Ms X’s emails had not been made available to the person writing the stage one complaint response. It said it would remind staff of the importance of accurate record keeping. The Council apologised and offered Ms X £350. This was made up of £50 for lack of support and delay sourcing temporary accommodation, £200 for distress, and £100 for Ms X’s time and trouble.

Analysis

Emergency accommodation

22. Ms X complained the Council did not provide her with emergency accommodation when she was made homeless.
23. When Ms X was first made homeless, the Council had a duty to assess what housing duty it owed her. It did this. It decided Ms X was not in priority need. Therefore, the Council had no duty to provide Ms X with interim or temporary accommodation at that stage.
24. For this reason, I do not find the Council at fault.

Emergency accommodation after the assault

25. Ms X complained the Council did not provide her with emergency accommodation when she had to have surgery after being assaulted.
26. Ms X emailed the Council in March, saying she had been assaulted by a family member (which is domestic abuse) and had been in hospital. The Officer Ms X told should have referred Ms X to the appropriate team within one day. This did not happen. The Council did not refer Ms X to that team until April, one month later, after which the Council decided she was in priority need. This delay is fault.
27. The Council said it overlooked Ms X’s email. This is fault.
28. The Council said the Housing Officer was unclear whether the assault amounted to Ms X fleeing domestic abuse. This is not good practice.
29. The fault caused injustice because Ms X was deprived of suitable accommodation for one month. For some of that time, Ms X was sleeping rough on the street. This caused unnecessary and avoidable distress and frustration.
30. The Council accepts it should have provided Ms X with a greater duty of care, particularly after she reported the assault. The Council recognises the Officer did not support Ms X and had failed to recognise the increased risk of harm as a result of the domestic abuse. The Council recognises it should have prioritised Ms X’s case for emergency temporary accommodation.
31. The Council has provided evidence to show it has instructed all officers to prioritise the consideration and provision of emergency temporary accommodation for all applicants fleeing domestic abuse. It has also instructed all officers to be mindful of any report of domestic abuse and ensure these reports are dealt with quickly and sensitively.
32. The Council said the Officer will be provided with refreshed training on how to recognise domestic abuse, and provide necessary support irrespective of the frequency of domestic abuse incidents. This is positive.
33. The Council said it is working with external consultants to review the provision of homelessness assistance, advice and support. It said this review will make strategic and operational recommendations for improvement. This is positive.
34. The Council has shared with housing officers a copy of the Ombudsman’s focus report, “More Home Truths: complaint about the Homelessness Reduction Act” published March 2023. This is appropriate.

Help finding accommodation

35. Ms X complained the Council has not helped her find accommodation.
36. Personalised housing plans set out what councils will do to help a person keep or secure accommodation. In Ms X’s personalised housing plan, the section called “What actions/reasonable steps the Housing Options Officer will do next” was blank. This is fault. The Council said this was an “oversight/error”.
37. This fault caused injustice in that it caused Ms X uncertainty about what steps the Council would take to help her find accommodation.
38. Ms X said the Council did not contact her to say what actions it was taking to help her.
39. The evidence shows that Ms X contacted the Housing Officer, asked for a response, and then chased the Council multiple times for a response. The evidence shows Housing Officers did contact Ms X with private rental offers, but also shows some officers did not respond to Ms X’s request for replies and callbacks.
40. While I find the evidence shows the Council did take some action to help Ms X find accommodation, before it provided temporary accommodation, I find it communicated poorly with Ms X. This is fault. I find this fault caused Ms X uncertainty.
41. I also find the Council at fault for poor record keeping. The stage one response writer did not have access to Ms X’s email about the assault, which had been sent five weeks before the complaint response was written. The Council said this was because there was a delay “indexing” Ms X’s communications onto its system. This poor record keeping is fault.
42. The Council has provided evidence it has reminded staff of the importance of keeping records up to date. I am satisfied with this.

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Agreed action

43. The Council has reviewed Ms X’s complaint and its previous offer of £350. On reflection, the Council has decided that a payment of £2000 is a more appropriate remedy for the level of injustice caused by the faults in this case. I agree, and I find this is in line with our published guidance on remedies. The Council has agreed to make this payment to Ms X within four weeks of this decision.
44. In response to Ombudsman enquiries, the Council said it will provide the Housing Officer with refreshed training on how to recognise domestic abuse, and to provide necessary support irrespective of the frequency of domestic abuse incidents. I find this is a suitable and appropriate service improvement. The Council has agreed to provide evidence the Housing Officer has completed this refresher training within three months of this decision.
45. Also within three months of this decision, the Council has agreed to remind all housing officers to complete personalised housing plans properly and thoroughly. In particular, not to leave the section called “What actions/reasonable steps the Housing Options Officer will do next” blank. It is vital that applicants know what the Council has agreed to do to help secure or keep accommodation.
46. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

47. I have completed my investigation. I uphold Ms X’s complaint because there is fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms X and improves its service.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman