Swindon Borough Council (19 018 848)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 24-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about £450 the complainant was charged for repairs for temporary accommodation he lived until 2017. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because it is a late complaint.

London Borough of Lewisham (18 006 758)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 19-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complained on behalf of his friend Ms Y about the Council’s decision to evict and discharge its housing duty to Ms Y in November 2018. He also complained the Council failed to respond to his appeals about decisions around Ms Y’s housing benefit. Ms Y had a statutory right of review around the Council’s decision to discharge its housing duty and it was open to her to use that right. Therefore, I have not investigated that matter any further. The Council was at fault for failing to formally respond to Mr X’s appeals on behalf of Ms Y and for failing to pass them to the tribunal. The Council has now reconsidered the appeals and has formally written to Ms Y explaining its decisions which is an appropriate remedy.

Watford Borough Council (19 020 175)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 18-Mar-2020

Summary: A tenant complained about her landlord’s failure to resolve issues of anti-social behaviour, noise and disrepair which affected her. But the Ombudsman cannot investigate this matter. This is because the tenant’s landlord is a housing association, and we have no jurisdiction to consider complaints against housing associations.

London Borough of Southwark (19 018 428)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 18-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss A’s complaint about loss of and damage to her belongings. This is because it would not be unreasonable to expect Miss A to go to court if the matter is not resolved through her insurers.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (19 002 717)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 16-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman found fault on Mr Z’s complaint against the Council of it delaying dealing with the eviction notice he handed in and with its failure to ensure copy documents he provided were placed on his file which meant repeated requests for those he had already sent. The agreed action remedies the avoidable injustice caused. There was no fault on his remaining complaints.

London Borough of Bromley (19 016 745)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 16-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains the Council placed her in unsuitable accommodation and failed to move her despite saying it would. The Council accepts it did not provide interim accommodation while dealing with Ms X’s homelessness application and left her in unsuitable accommodation for 20 months. A suitable remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X is agreed.

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (19 017 679)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 13-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation of this complaint about the suitability of temporary accommodation. This is because the complainant has the right to request a review.

London Borough of Lambeth (19 016 384)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 12-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complained about the suitability of her temporary accommodation and the priority which the Council has given to her housing application. The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns allocation of temporary accommodation in which Ms X was placed more than 12 months before she complained to the Ombudsman. We will not investigate her complaint about her housing priority because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Sheffield City Council (19 018 682)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 12-Mar-2020

Summary: A man complained that the Council unreasonably downgraded his priority on its Housing Register after he refused an offer of accommodation. But the Ombudsman does not have reason to start an investigation of this matter. This is because the Council has now restored the man’s priority, and it is unlikely we could achieve a better outcome for him than this.

London Borough of Southwark (18 015 936)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 11-Mar-2020

Summary: The complainant says the Council delayed deciding if it owed him a duty to house him following homelessness. This delayed his right to a review of the suitability of his property. The complainant says he suffered bed bugs, vermin infestations, unclean living areas and the loss of heating and hot water due to boiler failures. The Council says it oversaw the property provider’s action to eradicate bed bugs, vermin and the repair and replacement of the boiler. The Council says the complainant did not ask for a review of suitability when he gained that right following the Council’s decision it owed him a housing duty. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for the delay in deciding it owed a housing duty which delayed the right to a review and the opportunity of improving circumstances through bidding on other properties.