Corby Borough Council (19 006 125)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 17-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s consideration of his homeless and housing waiting list application. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which would warrant an investigation.

Charnwood Borough Council (18 019 685)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 17-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to support him when he became homeless. Mr X has since moved to a different council’s area. The investigation was discontinued because there was insufficient evidence to make a robust decision.

Elmbridge Borough Council (18 017 457)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 17-Sep-2019

Summary: The complainant says the Council failed to properly determine her family’s homelessness application and the review of the Council’s decision. The Council accepts fault and has offered a remedy. The Ombudsman does not consider the remedy is sufficient. We have made recommendations to reflect the level of distress caused by the Council’s handling of this case. We have also recommended service improvements and that the Council complete an audit on similar cases to ascertain if the Council’s errors in process has affected other families.

London Borough of Southwark (18 017 049)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 16-Sep-2019

Summary: Miss C complains about the Council’s handling of her request for housing help when she was made homeless after fleeing domestic violence. We find the Council was at fault. The Council did not meet the Relief duty it owed Miss C and took over one year to decide her homelessness application. The Council has agreed to take a range of actions to put right this injustice. We have completed our investigation.

London Borough of Camden (18 019 829)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 10-Sep-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to advise her of changes to its housing allocation scheme in 2015, which affected her eligibility. Mrs X also complains that the Council failed to provide assistance when she completed an online homeless prevention form in June 2018. The Council’s failure to notify Mrs X when she no longer qualified for the allocation scheme and its failure to provide homeless advice and assistance amounts to fault. The Council has provided an appropriate remedy for these faults.

London Borough of Hackney (19 005 469)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 10-Sep-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council failed to comply with its duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. This is because it was reasonable for him to pursue his right of appeal to the county court when the Council did not review its decision to end its prevention and relief duties.

London Borough of Southwark (19 005 676)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 10-Sep-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s decision to evict her from her accommodation without providing a suitable alternative. This is because we cannot investigate the Council’s decision to evict her and it was reasonable to expect her to go to court if she wished to challenge the Council’s decision that she is not in priority need.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (18 015 756)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 09-Sep-2019

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s actions which led to her brother being sent to a hostel. She complains the Council should have been aware of her brother’s vulnerabilities and that because of these vulnerabilities, he should not have been sent to the hostel. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council’s actions.

London Borough of Havering (19 000 035)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 02-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr X complains he requested support from the Council in 2016 when he was homeless for several months, but it failed to provide this support. He says this period has had a significant impact on him mentally and he wants the Council to apologise to him for its failure. The Ombudsman has found the Council was not at fault because it provided an appropriate level of support to Mr X in the period before and after he became homeless in 2016.

Leicester City Council (19 001 806)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 02-Sep-2019

Summary: Miss X complained about the way the Council handled her homelessness and housing applications, and about its failure to carry out repairs after a leak in her temporary accommodation. The Council was not at fault.