London Borough of Southwark (19 011 881)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 10-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that there was fault in the Council’s process when he reported his accommodation provider was evicting him from his temporary accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process.

Birmingham City Council (19 005 757)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 10-Dec-2019

Summary: Ms X complained about disrepair in the temporary accommodation provided by the Council. The Council was not at fault.

Watford Borough Council (18 018 668)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 06-Dec-2019

Summary: Mr K complains about the temporary housing services the Council referred him to. The Ombudsman finds no evidence of fault.

Central Bedfordshire Council (19 009 009)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 05-Dec-2019

Summary: Mrs B complains that the Council did not deal with her housing needs properly. The Council delayed accepting its relief duty, delayed creating a personal housing plan (PHP), and did not properly record how it was reviewed, incorrectly advised Mrs B of her review rights and did not give her enough notice of her temporary accommodation ending. Mrs B suffered delay in receiving her PHP, was uncertain about her review rights and suffered distress. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs B, pay her £200 for the distress she suffered and review its policies, procedures and training.

City of Wolverhampton Council (19 003 893)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 04-Dec-2019

Summary: Ms B complains the Council failed to take appropriate action in respect of her homelessness. The Ombudsman finds no fault by the Council in this matter.

London Borough of Harrow (18 017 251)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 03-Dec-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed in awarding her the correct priority on the housing allocations register. She also says the Council allocated her unsuitable accommodation and failed to make adaptations to meet her family’s needs. Based on the evidence seen, the Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault in awarding the correct priority and Mrs X and her family were left in unsuitable accommodation. These faults caused Mrs X and her family an injustice.

London Borough of Redbridge (18 017 247)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 27-Nov-2019

Summary: the Council wrongly treated Mrs B’s family as two separate households when they presented as homeless, failed to take a homeless application for six months and failed to provide interim accommodation for six months. That meant the family were separated and had to spend time sofa surfing. An apology, payment to Mrs B and her daughter and a training session for officers is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

Hart District Council (18 019 566)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 25-Nov-2019

Summary: there was no fault in the way the Council dealt with Miss X’s Housing Register application and prioritised her bids for properties. Its decision not to proceed with an offer to move Miss X to a hostel in its area was not taken with fault.

London Borough of Brent (18 014 843)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 22-Nov-2019

Summary: Ms X has complained about how the Council dealt with her homelessness application. There is evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

London Borough of Croydon (19 000 603)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 20-Nov-2019

Summary: The Council is at fault as it placed Miss X and her family in unsuitable accommodation which caused distress and inconvenience to her. The Council has agreed to remedy Miss X’s injustice by apologising to her and making a payment of £975 to her.