Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council handled his homelessness after he received an eviction notice in 2022 and 2023. The Council failed to take steps to provide Mr X with appropriate help and support to alleviate his risk of homelessness between October 2022 and January 2024. This meant Mr X and his family remained in a property with the risk of eviction. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr X to recognise the distress and uncertainty this caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council handled his homelessness since it accepted the relief duty in October 2022 after he received an eviction notice. He said the Council failed to find treat his family as homeless and he remained in the property at risk of eviction until June 2024 without any suitable offers of alternative accommodation.
2. Mr X said all this has caused him and his family distress and uncertainty.

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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 Mr X’s complaint and information he provided.
6. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiry letter.
7. I considered the Homelessness Code of Guidance (the Code) and relevant law.
8. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

9. 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.
10. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council on or after 3 April 2018:
• they are likely to become homeless within 56 days; or
• they have been served with a valid Section 21 notice which will expire within 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5).
11. Where an applicant has been served a Section 21 notice of eviction then councils should not consider it reasonable for an applicant to remain in occupation up until the point at which a court issues a warrant or order for possession.
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. 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)
13. If a council is satisfied an applicant is eligible for assistance and homeless then the council will owe the relief duty. This requires the council to take reasonable steps to help them to secure suitable accommodation. The relief duty usually lasts for 56 days.
14. 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).
15. Examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age.

16. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
17. Wherever possible, Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.33). 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.
18. Where the council owes or has owed certain housing duties to an applicant, it must protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged.

What happened

19. In 2022 Mr X lived with his family, including three dependent children, in a private rented property (Property 1). During 2022 Mr X’s landlord served him with a Section 21 eviction notice, so he approached the Council as homeless.
20. In October 2022 the Council wrote to Mr X with a letter titled ‘your relief assessment and personalised housing plan (PHP). The letter included Mr X’s PHP.
21. In December 2022 the Court set aside Mr X’s eviction from Property 1. However, Mr X remained at risk from eviction as the landlord sought to obtain another eviction notice.
22. In April 2023 Mr X’s landlord served a new eviction notice. The Council sought information from Mr X.
23. Following the eviction notice Mr X’s landlord served him with a possession order in June 2023. Mr X updated the Council and it sent him information about its Private Rented Scheme. Mr X remained living in Property 1.
24. In December 2023 Mr X told the Council his eviction date was set for mid-January 2024. He asked the Council for assistance with protection and storage of his property and belongings as he was uncertain where he would live and what space he would have for his belongings. The Council said it was unlikely a suitable private rented property would be available before then so it said it would seek temporary accommodation for him and then assist with helping him store his belongings.
25. Between January and March 2024 records show the Council offered Mr X various accommodation in the form of hotels and hostels. The Council booked hotel 1 for Mr X however when it checked in early February about his stay Mr X said he was still in Property 1 as the eviction was on hold and he thought hotel 1 was just an option. Records show Mr X said his children did not want to live in a hotel. Mr X said he was hoping for a house.
26. In February 2024 the Council issued Mr X with another letter setting out that it owed him the relief duty and attached a personalised housing plan.
27. The Council booked a hotel for Mr X in early March 2024 however, Mr X said when he arrived the place was locked up and nobody let him in. So, he went back to Property 1. The Council say someone would have been present to let Mr X in.
28. Mr X complained to the Council in February 2024 about its failure to place his family in suitable accommodation pending their eviction from Property 1 and for not storing his belongings. It responded in February and April 2024. In summary the Council outlined the efforts it had made to support Mr X during the early part of 2024 including offers of temporary hotel/hostel accommodation. It said Mr X did not accept these and did not turn up to one of the hotel bookings, instead choosing to remain in Property 1. The Council said there was a shortage of temporary accommodation nationwide and he was on the private rented scheme waiting list.
29. In June 2024 Mr X and his family moved into Property 2 on a private rented agreement. The Council wrote to Mr X confirming he was now no longer homeless and therefore it had ended its relief duty.
30. Mr X remained unhappy with how the Council dealt with his homelessness and complained to us.
31. In response to an earlier draft decision on this complaint the Council said when it wrote to Mr X in October 2022 it owed him the prevention duty not the relief duty.

My findings

32. The Council was aware Mr X was being evicted from his house and wrote to Mr X accepting it owed him the relief duty. In response to an earlier draft decision the Council said this should have been the prevention duty. The Council’s failure to correctly notify Mr X of the duty it owed him was fault. Given Mr X had received a s21 notice it would have been appropriate to owe him the prevention duty.
33. There is no evidence the Council took any action to support Mr X with his housing between October 2022 and April 2023. The Council says it received no contact from Mr X but there is no evidence it contacted Mr X, sought to update his PHP or ended its prevention duty to Mr X after 56 days. This was fault. Mr X was able to remain in his current accommodation, but this caused him frustration and uncertainty.
34. Mr X’s landlord served a new eviction notice in April 2023 at which point the Council’s prevention duty should have started again. The landlord obtained a possession order in June 2023. The code of guidance sets out that it is highly unlikely to be reasonable for an applicant to continue to occupy a property beyond the date of a possession order. At this point the Council owed Mr X the relief duty and it should have considered what action it needed to take to alleviate his homelessness. Not doing so was fault. It should have considered whether it was appropriate to offer him interim accommodation or whether it was reasonable for Mr X to continue to occupy his current accommodation in the short term. Its failure to consider this and record its reasoning was fault.
35. The Council wrote to Mr X to offer him the relief duty in February 2024. The Council was aware Mr X’s landlord had a possession order in June 2023 and should have considered whether it owed him the relief duty earlier. The failure to notify Mr X of the appropriate duty at the correct time was fault.
36. The law says the relief duty lasts for 56 days and although this can be extended it is only in limited circumstances. The Council should have ended the relief duty and made a main housing duty decision around August 2023 and considered offering Mr X temporary accommodation. The failure to reach a decision on whether it owed Mr X the main homelessness duty was fault. The Council’s repeated failure to make the correct decisions on Mr X’s homelessness at the right times caused him distress and uncertainty over what duties he was owed and what review and appeal rights he may have had.
37. In early 2024, the Council offered Mr X interim accommodation in the form of hotels and hostels in early 2024. It was open to the Council, in conjunction with Mr X to decide it was more appropriate for Mr X to stay in his current accommodation but its failure to properly consider this and record its reasoning is fault.
38. Regarding Mr X’s belongings, as he remained in Property 1 there was no immediate risk of them being lost, damaged or destroyed. On balance, the Council would likely have stored them upon Mr X moving out of Property 1 if he had accepted any of the hotel/hostel offers. So, I don’t find the Council at fault for not removing his belongings while he remained in Property 1.
39. We have made recent recommendations to this Council about improving its oversight of homeless applications to ensure relevant timescales such as the 56 day relief duty are met. I therefore have not made any further service improvements.

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Agreed action

40. Within one month of the final decision the Council agreed to:
1. apologise to Mr X and pay him £800 to recognise the frustration and uncertainty caused to him by the lack of support towards his homelessness and its failure to properly notify Mr X of the duties he was owed We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended.
2. Remind officers of the importance of notifying homelessness applicants of the correct homelessness duty and ensuring the Council accepts and ends the correct duties at relevant times.
3. Remind housing officers of the Importance of making the main housing duty after 56 days, only extending this in the specific circumstances in line with the Homelessness Code of guidance.
4. Review its processes to ensure Personalised Housing Plans are reviewed in a timely manner and appropriate oversight is maintained of homelessness cases where the relief duty extends over 56 days.
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

42. I completed this investigation. I found fault and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused by the fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman