London Borough of Havering (19 018 046)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 14-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council have not properly considered his circumstances in reaching a decision that he is not homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because he can appeal the matter in court.

Gravesham Borough Council (19 015 917)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 14-Feb-2020

Summary: The complaint is about matters related to a Council-owned property next to Mrs B’s home. The Ombudsman cannot pursue this complaint as he has no power to investigate complaints about the management of social housing.

Liverpool City Council (19 002 147)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 13-Feb-2020

Summary: Miss X complains about the way the Council has dealt with her homeless application and failure to provide suitable temporary accommodation. Miss X also complains that the Council failed to protect her personal belongings. The Ombudsman finds that the Council delayed making a decision on her homelessness application and failed to review the suitability of the temporary accommodation. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed a remedy to reflect the level of distress caused to Miss X.

London Borough of Lewisham (19 003 685)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 13-Feb-2020

Summary: The Council took sufficient action to assist Mr X with finding accommodation after he became homeless. But it is at fault as it delayed in sending Mr X’s personalised housing plan to him, did not notify him of the ending of the relief duty and how he could challenge that decision and delayed in deciding if it owed the main housing duty to him. These faults did not cause significant injustice to Mr X. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council removing and destroying his van as the Council was acting on behalf of DVLA so the matter is outside our jurisdiction.

Leicester City Council (19 007 344)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 13-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr B, a landlord, complains that the Council failed to provide adequate and timely support to himself and his tenant causing him distress, inconvenience and expense. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault in that it delayed in providing advice to Mr B but there is no evidence to suggest this affected the outcome. The Council’s apology is a sufficient remedy for the frustration Mr B suffered.

London Borough of Newham (19 014 434)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Allocations 13-Feb-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to offer only a two bedroom home. This is because it is unlikely he would find fault by the Council in the way it made its decision.

Brentwood Borough Council (19 015 114)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council house sales and leaseholders 13-Feb-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs Q’s complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to respond to her query about council properties sold under the Right to Buy. This is because the injustice she has suffered is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

London Borough of Southwark (19 002 533)

Statement Upheld Allocations 12-Feb-2020

Summary: there was fault in the way the Council assessed Mr X’s Housing Register application and priority band. On the balance of probabilities, Mr X would not have been rehoused by now if he had been awarded the correct band. As Mr X’s circumstances have changed since he made the application, the Council has agreed to take steps to review his housing needs and update his Housing Register application.

Epping Forest District Council (19 007 081)

Statement Upheld Allocations 11-Feb-2020

Summary: Mrs C complains the Council has not given her daughter’s mental health issues sufficient weight when deciding on her priority for rehousing and that information about the occupation of the property was misleading. There was some fault but that has not altered the outcome.

Liverpool City Council (19 008 264)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 11-Feb-2020

Summary: Miss B complains that the Council has not properly dealt with her application for housing for herself and her son or a complaint about bullying. The Council was at fault because it delayed investigating her complaint. Miss B has not had her complaint investigated. The Council has arranged to investigate Miss B’s complaint and invited her to meetings so it can do so. This is a suitable remedy.