London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (22 010 421)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 30-Mar-2023

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council has failed to properly review his son’s housing application. The Ombudsman does not find fault in the Council’s actions.

Southampton City Council (22 015 604)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Managing council tenancies 30-Mar-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council as a registered social housing provider because we have no jurisdiction to investigate.

London Borough of Barnet (22 005 839)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 29-Mar-2023

Summary: The Council’s failure to consider the impact on a particular group of homeless applicants of its policy to award households in long-term temporary accommodation the lowest priority for housing was fault. This has resulted in a situation where such applicants neither have a realistic prospect of securing social housing nor receive active support from the Council to end their homelessness another way. They have therefore been homeless for over a decade. The Council has agreed to review its allocations scheme and take action to improve its service to this group of homeless people.

London Borough of Hounslow (22 008 765)

Statement Upheld Allocations 29-Mar-2023

Summary: Miss X complained about the support the Council provided to protect her son from child criminal exploitation and related violence. There was fault in how the Council arranged for Miss X to move outside of its area, failed to decide whether to assess B’s special educational needs and how it handled Miss X’s complaint. This caused avoidable distress and uncertainty for which the Council agreed to apologise and pay Miss X a financial remedy. It also agreed to review its practices.

Telford & Wrekin Council (22 010 389)

Statement Upheld Private housing 29-Mar-2023

Summary: Miss Y complained the Council failed to respond to, or take proper action regarding, her reports of disrepair at her private rented property. We have found fault by the Council in its delays and service failures in the period from April to August 2022, causing injustice. We have not found fault with the Council’s response and action from August 2022. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused by making payments to reflect Miss Y’s distress and worry, time and trouble, and the impact on her and the family of living with the disrepairs during the period in which it failed to take proper action. It has confirmed the measures it has taken to stop the service failures happening again.

Medway Council (22 011 715)

Statement Not upheld Allocations 29-Mar-2023

Summary: Mrs B complained about the way the Council considered her application for alternative housing due to her rare and debilitating medical condition. We have not found fault with the Council’s actions.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 016 465)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 29-Mar-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the suitability of Council’s provision of temporary accommodation. It is reasonable for Miss X to challenge the decision on suitability in the County Court.

Liverpool City Council (22 008 745)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-Mar-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council refused to accept his homelessness applications when he was fleeing domestic abuse. This meant he missed out on being temporarily housed and was left at risk. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for is handling of Mr X’s homelessness applications. However, the remedy provided by the Council is in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (22 010 690)

Statement Upheld Allocations 28-Mar-2023

Summary: Mr H complained the Council wrongly refused his requests for a move to a larger property under its Grenfell Policy. We did not find fault in the process the Council followed, we cannot therefore criticise the merits of its decisions. However, the Council agreed it was at fault for failing to share a letter with Mr H and provide regular personalised updates. We found its apology was enough to remedy the injustice this caused.

Westminster City Council (22 011 515)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-Mar-2023

Summary: The Council was at fault for the way it handled Mr X’s homelessness application. This caused injustice as Mr X should have received suitable accommodation much sooner than he did. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X, make a payment to him and carry out some service improvements.