Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to ensure his family are suitably housed given Mrs X’s disabilities. The Council was not at fault for the way it dealt with Mr X’s housing priority, housing allocation and care needs assessment. The Council was at fault as it failed to consider whether Mr X could apply for a disabled facilities grant. It has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr X to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty this caused. It has also agreed to review its procedures.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to ensure his family were suitably housed given Mrs X’s disabilities. In particular it failed to:
• allocate them a suitable property; or
• to carry out adaptations to their current property. This means they have been in unsuitable accommodation for longer than they should have.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) Mr X says they have been waiting to move for several years. I have exercise my discretion to consider what has happened since 2018, when Mrs X was assessed by an Occupational Therapist (OT).due to the continuing impact the situation has had on Mr and Mrs X.
5. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
6. For cases involving council tenants, where the council is both the adult social care authority and the social housing landlord, areas of complaints may be within our jurisdiction and other parts are for the Housing Ombudsman. (Memorandum of Understanding between The Housing Ombudsman - following the amendments to the Housing Act 1996 as a result of the Localism Act 2011.)
7. Of relevance to this case:
1. complaints for the Housing Ombudsman:
• Certain complaints about the provision and management of social housing. This includes repairs and improvements to council homes, such as disabled adaptations.
1. Complaints for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
• Complaints about the allocation of social housing, including the assessment and operation of the scheme.
• Complaints about mandatory or discretionary home improvement grants, such as the Disabled Facilities Grant scheme.
• Complaints about the actions of social services occupational therapy services, including those assessments for a Disabled Facilities Grant about the council’s operation of the Disabled Facility Grant procedure.
• Complaints about assessments carried out under the Care Act 2014 by social care councils.
8. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

9. I have considered the information provided by Mr X and have discussed the complaint with him on the phone. I have considered the Council’s response to my enquiries.
10. I gave Mr X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments I received in reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Housing Allocations

11. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
12. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))
13. The Council operates a single direct offer system to allocate available homes. It prioritises applicants into three bands with one being high priority and three low priority. It prioritises applicants based on the banding and the priority date within the band. If a property is offered and refused the applicant may be suspended from the Housing Register for 12 months and no offers made during that time.
14. Applicants have the right to request a review of certain decisions regarding their housing application. This includes decisions about priority and of the outcome should an offer be refused.

Adaptations

Disabled adaptations for council tenants

15. Where a council is the social housing landlord, it can make adaptations for its disabled tenants as their landlord. It may assess the need for these disabled adaptations using an Occupation Therapist (OT), separately from a council’s social care authority’s assessment of their social care needs.

Disabled Facilities Grants

16. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG)s are capital grants that are available to disabled people of all ages and in all housing tenures (i.e. whether renting privately, from a social landlord or council, or owner-occupiers) to contribute to the cost of adaptations to enable eligible disabled people to continue living safely and independently at home. People can apply, in writing for a DFG, so long as their application contains certain specified information. (The Housing Renewal Grants Regulations 2016)
17. Government guidance (Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) delivery: guidance for local authorities in England) published in March 2022 sets out that ‘disabled Facilities Grants are capital grants that are available to people of all ages and in all housing tenures (i.e. whether renting privately, from a social landlord or council, or owner-occupiers) to contribute to the cost of adaptations’. Eligible council tenants can apply for a DFG in the same way as any other applicant. However, the Council is required to self-fund home adaptations for council tenants through the housing revenue account. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs and it is also reasonable and practicable to carry out the works.
18. The Council’s policy for Grants and assistance for disabled adaptations in Hounslow states it applies to all forms of housing. It states if the applicant is a council tenant there is no grant process.
19. For DFGs, the Council’s Occupational Therapy Team considers whether adaptations to a property are feasible. If it is not feasible to adapt a property, the Occupational Therapist (OT) will complete a Housing Needs Assessment to support a move to a more appropriate property.

Care Act assessments

20. Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 require councils to carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. They must provide an assessment to everyone regardless of their finances or whether the council thinks the person has eligible needs. The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved.
21. Councils must carry out assessments over a suitable and reasonable timescale considering the urgency of needs and any variation in those needs
22. Where somebody provides or intends to provide care for another adult and it appears the carer may have any needs for support, the council must carry out a carer’s assessment. A carer’s assessment must seek to find out not only the carer’s needs for support, but also the sustainability of the caring role itself. This includes the practical and emotional support the carer provides to the adult.
23. As part of the carer’s assessment, the council must consider the carer’s potential future needs for support. It must also consider whether the carer is, and will continue to be, able and willing to care for the adult needing care. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

What happened

24. Mr X and Mrs X live with their two adult children in a Council owned property. Mrs X has physical health conditions which affect her mobility. She uses crutches to get around and a wheelchair if travelling long distances. Mr X is Mrs X’s main carer. The Council has placed Mr and Mrs X in band 1 housing priority for a three bedroom property that has level access suitable for wheelchair use.
25. In March 2018 an OT from the Housing Department carried out a housing needs assessment after receiving a request for a ground floor toilet for Mrs X from a medical professional. They recorded that for the property to be suitable, Mrs X ‘would need a level access shower, stair lift and a downstairs toilet. They noted Mrs X may not be able to negotiate stairs in future and had a fear of stair lifts, and the property could not accommodate a toilet or level access shower downstairs.
26. In May 2019 Mr X contacted the Council to ask whether his wife could have an assessment for a possible extension to their home to include a bedroom and toilet//wet room downstairs. The officer noted they discussed the request with the OT who said Housing would not consider an extension due to the cost. The Council decided to reassess whether a stair lift could be provided.
27. In October 2019 an OT from the Council’s housing team carried out a review of Mr and Mrs X’s housing needs. In the case records they noted the current house was unsuitable and adaptations were not a feasible option. The assessment found the current property was not suitable to meet Mrs X’s needs. The OT recommended, to meet Mrs X’s housing needs, she would need a property with a level access shower, ramped/level access and door widths suitable for a wheelchair.
28. In October 2019 the Council offered Mr X a property. However, the OT from the Council’s housing team assessed the property was not suitable and would not meet Mrs X’s needs.
29. In May 2020 the Council offered Mr and Mrs X a three bedroom adapted flat with a wet room. An OT from the Housing Team visited the property and emailed the housing officer. They stated ‘it was felt the access into and around the flat was not really suitable for [Mrs X] and the flat was not adaptable to enable her to use a wheelchair for some of the time’. The Council’s adaptations and rehousing meeting noted it was ‘trying to find a suitable offer, as things were becoming more difficult. [An officer] asked about extending existing property and confirmed that this is not an option’.
30. Mr X contacted the Housing OT in October 2020. He stated he had waited four years to be rehoused but had been informed the Council was not interested in doing an extension. Mr X was struggling to support Mrs X and was suffering from back problems. The Housing OT manager replied to Mr X and advised the Council was only able to adapt within the existing property and the lettings team were trying to identify a suitable property.
31. The Council’s adaptations and rehousing meeting, in November 2020, noted ‘[an officer] confirmed that HAT [the Housing and Adaptations Team] cannot extend his property’. Mr X had queried why another property in the area was being extended and this issue was referred to a manager to respond to. It later confirmed the extension was to an empty property and not part of any adaptations work.
32. In April 2021 Mr and Mrs X requested the Council carry out a social care needs assessment for Mrs X and a carer’s assessment for Mr X. The Council spoke to Mrs X but considered their main concern was for them to be moved or to have their home adapted so it decided not to carry out an assessment.
33. In April 2021 the Housing OT spoke with a Housing officer who advised Mr X had said Mrs X may be able to manage a stairlift and was adamant she could not cope with a flat. The OT noted Mrs X has ruled out a stair lift previously saying she could not manage one due to her fears, so a stair lift assessment was never completed, and rehousing was considered the best option. Due to her ongoing deterioration the Housing officer requested social care carry out a new OT assessment.
34. In May 2021 the Council offered Mr X another property. After viewing it Mr and Mrs X turned it down as unsuitable. In an email to Mr X the Council advised ‘the refusal reasons have been accepted and no suspension will be actioned. Please note the next offer will be a final offer’. The adaptations and rehousing meeting noted Mrs X was to be reassessed by the Adult Social Care OT Team to consider home adaptations, in particular, to see if she would be able to use a stairlift and remain at the current property. It noted the Council had offered Mr and Mrs X a suitable property that day but was refused by Mr X.
35. In June 2021 the ASC OT Team completed an assessment to consider whether a stairlift or through-lift were options. The OT found Mrs X’s mobility had decreased and she now used two crutches. She could not get out of the bath independently and would benefit from a level access shower. They noted previous OT reports by the Housing OT Team found insufficient space for a through lift and a stairlift was not suitable long term. It stated ‘to make the existing property suitable the upstairs bathroom would need to be replaced with a level access shower, a ground floor toilet and stairlift would need to be provided. The stairlift would not be a long term solution due to [Mrs X’s] ongoing mobility issues [Mr and Mrs X] would like to be considered for a ground floor bedroom and bathroom facilities’.
36. A representative for Mr and Mrs X contacted the Council in July 2021 again requesting a Care Act assessment. The Council acknowledged Mr X was struggling and agreed to carry out an assessment.
37. The carer’s assessment noted Mr X was his wife’s main carer. Mr X supported his wife to get upstairs to use the toilet and bathe, assisted her with dressing and to go to bed and managed the cooking. This had affected his health and injured his back. It recommended a contingency plan and emergency card for unplanned occurrences when Mr X was unable to support Mrs X. It noted the OT Team were reviewing the housing needs report to consider the possibility of adapting the property rather than rehouse the family.
38. In July 2021 the Council’s social care team assessed Mrs X’s needs. It noted
    Mrs X had difficulties going up stairs to the toilet and was dependent on her husband to help her. It noted Mrs X was being assessed by an OT regarding her bathing needs and use of the stairs. However, she preferred to be supported by Mr X or her daughter with bathing and getting dressed. It noted Mrs X was open to the OT for addressing her mobility needs in the home. It recommended a care package to meet her care needs in relation to supporting her nutrition and hydration needs, laundry and domestic cleaning.
39. At the housing and adaptations meeting in July 2021 the meeting noted the family wanted their property extending however it noted they were being made offers of other properties. The family confirmed they would accept a property if they could have a stairlift but the meeting noted the recent assessment had confirmed a stairlift was not suitable long term.
40. In August 2021 the Council completed a financial assessment for care costs. It assessed Mrs X would need to pay £40 a week towards her care. Mr and Mrs X chose not to accept formal care as Mrs X did not want anyone other than family members assisting with personal care and due to the financial contribution.
41. In September 2021 an external company carried out an assessment for a stairlift. The company advised the Council it could fit a stairlift at the property but a stairlift may not be the best solution. The ASC OT discussed the case with their manager They concluded Mrs X should be rehoused as a stairlift would not benefit Mrs X’s long term needs. They noted the upstairs bathroom could be adapted but there would be limited space for a wheelchair user and Mrs X was likely to become a wheelchair user in the future.
42. In late 2021, Mr X complained to the Council his property was not suitable and they were not offered suitable alternative accommodation.
43. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in December 2021 and advised Mr X was in band one with a priority date of May 2017. It had considered their application in line with its allocations policy and prioritised it appropriately, but most available properties were not suitable due to Mrs X’s needs. They were invited to view four properties which were later withdrawn. It said offers made in February 2020 and September 2021 were withdrawn as they were not wheelchair accessible. It said Mr X turned down a property in May 2021 as too small, but the Council considered it a suitable offer. It said in normal circumstances the Council would have suspended the application for housing, but it agreed to assist with another offer.
44. Mr X responded to the Council’s complaint response in that the flat offered was too small. He said the ASC Team OT said the only option was to extend the current property but they had been rejected constantly as the Council said it does not have the money for it. Mr X said they would accept a stairlift.
45. The Council sent a further complaint response to Mr X in February 2022 that it did not intend to imply Mr X was at fault for refusing properties. However, its view was the property offered in May 2021 was suitable. It said it had carried out a more recent OT assessment which had ensured it had the most up to date information about the family’s needs. It said it was looking at the extension request.
46. In March 2022 the Council says it offered Mr X a three bedroom level access property. It says Mr X refused this because it was accessible via lift and Mr X reported Mrs X was claustrophobic. The Council asked Mr X to provide medical information to support this. The Council considers this was a suitable offer which met the Housing OT recommendations. However, given the likelihood of another suitable property becoming available within 12 months it has exercised its discretion not to suspend Mr and Mrs X’s housing application.

Council response to our enquiries

47. In response to our enquiries the Council said Mr and Mrs X were not able to apply for a disabled facilities grant under the legislation. It said the Council has a revenue funded adaptation budget where consideration of all adaptations will be reviewed and designed subject to the identified need of the client.

Findings

Housing allocations

48. The Council assessed the current property was not suitable and awarded high priority under its housing scheme. The Council was entitled to consider moving Mr and Mrs X to another property to ensure her needs were met rather than adapting the current property as this can ultimately be a better use of public resources. This was not fault. The Ombudsman also recognises that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. However, the Council has allowed the situation to drift. Mr and Mrs X remain in the same property, four years after having been advised by the Council that it was unsuitable for Mrs X’s needs.
49. However, the Council made offers to Mr and Mrs X in May 2021 and March 2022 which it considered were suitable to meet Mrs X’s needs. Mr and Mrs X chose not to accept these offers. Had they done so their housing situation would have been resolved sooner. The Council has exercised its discretion not to suspend their housing application as given the limited availability of suitable properties it is unlikely another offer will be made in the short term.

Care needs assessment

50. There was some delay in the Council assessing Mrs X’s social care needs and Mr X’s needs as a carer. However, although the assessments identified Mrs X had eligible care needs, Mr and Mrs X chosen not to accept formal social care support. So, I cannot say this delay caused them an injustice.

Adaptations

51. Mr and Mrs X are council tenants. It is for the Council, acting in its capacity as their landlord to decide whether to carry out adaptations or to extend their property to meet Mrs X’s needs. The Council, acting in its role as a social landlord is not in the jurisdiction of the LGSCO. Therefore, I cannot comment on whether there was fault or not. This would be a matter for the Housing Ombudsman to decide.
52. However, Mr X repeatedly asked whether the Council would consider extending his property. Mr X was entitled to apply for a DFG and the Council failed to suggest or refer Mr X to its DFG process. It has failed to consider his request for adaptations in line with the criteria for a DFG: is it necessary, appropriate, reasonable and practicable. This was fault. In response to our enquiries the Council told us a council tenant cannot apply for DFG. This is incorrect. As set out in the Government Guidance, council tenants can apply for a DFG in the same way as any other applicant. If the statutory test is met for a DFG, the only difference is in the way this is funded; through the Council’s own housing revenue account rather than through Government DFG grant funding. Council tenants should not be treated less favourably than other applicants for a DFG purely on the basis of funding arrangements.
53. I cannot say whether Mr and Mrs X meet the criteria for a DFG to fund an extension. However, the Council’s failure to consider this has caused them frustration and uncertainty

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Agreed action

54. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• apologise to Mr and Mrs X and pay them £250 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the failure to advise them or consider a DFG.
• Offer Mr and Mrs X the opportunity to apply for a DFG and considers whether this option is necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable.
55. Within three months of the final decision the Council should ensure its staff are aware council tenants can apply for a DFG although this will be funded differently. It should provide evidence of this both from staff announcements, relevant policy changes and literature available for the public.

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Final decision

56. I have completed my investigation. There was evidence of fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy. It has also agreed to a service improvement to prevent recurrence of the fault causing injustice to others.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman