Summary: Ms T complained about the way the Council dealt with disrepair at her temporary accommodation. She says she and her family had to remain in a property with severe damp and mould as the Council failed to address her complaints. We found the Council at fault. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms T in recognition of the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms T complains about the way the Council has dealt with her complaints about disrepair at the temporary accommodation it provided to her. She says the Council did not deal with her complaints when she said there was damp and mould in the property. She says when the Council inspected the property, it gave her short notice to move her family to another property and caused her the added distress of the unexpected costs of moving.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have looked at issues which arose within the twelve months before Ms T contacted this office. Any issues before this date are out of time and could have been brought to us sooner. As such, it is not justified to apply discretion to look at them now.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered information provided by the Council and Ms T, alongside the relevant law and guidance.
7. Ms T and the Council have had the opportunity to comment on a draft decision before this final decision was made.

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. 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)
9. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)

What happened

10. The Council placed Ms T and her family in temporary accommodation.
11. In December 2023, Ms T contacted the Council and complained about disrepair at the property. She said there was severe damp and mould, broken windows which meant the house was too cold, and other issues of disrepair. She also said she had contacted the landlord, but they had not dealt with the issues.
12. The landlord carried out some repairs in July 2024, but the Council did not inspect the property itself until August 2024.
13. Following its review, the Council decided to immediately move Ms T and her family to different property.
14. Ms T complained about the Council’s handling of her matter and that she had incurred unexpected costs when she was moved.

Analysis and Findings

15. The Council knew of the disrepair at Ms T’s temporary accommodation, from at least December 2023. It should have inspected the property then. At the least, it should have contacted Ms T to check if the landlord was taking further action. This was not done which is fault.
16. It is not enough to rely on the landlord for confirmation that disrepair has been dealt with. The Council should have asked Ms T if the landlord had done this because it is the Council’s responsibility to make sure the property is suitable.
17. When the Council inspected the property, it took the decision the family should be moved.
18. On the balance of probabilities, this is the same decision which would have been made if the Council had inspected the property in December 2023.
19. On this basis, Ms T and her family were left in an unsuitable property for eight months longer than necessary.
20. This is a significant injustice, and in line with our guidance on remedies, the Council should address this by way of a payment of £250 per month of delay.
21. I considered Ms T’s complaint about the costs of moving she incurred at short notice. This cost was not caused by a fault, as she would have had to pay moving costs if the Council had reacted to her December 2023 complaints properly. I did not therefore include this cost in my remedy recommendation.

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Agreed action

22. Within one month of the decision, the Council will apologise to Ms T and make a payment of £2000 to her.
23. Within three months of the decision, the Council will review its process for dealing with complaints of disrepair. It will ensure its processes include checking what a landlord tells the Council with regard to carrying out repairs and remind all relevant staff of the need to do this.
24. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

25. We found the Council at fault, and it agreed to provide a personal remedy to Ms T in recognition of the injustice caused. The Council also agreed to carry out service improvements to avoid a repeat of the situation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman