Summary: Mrs X complained about the Councils handling of her Disabled Facilities Grant application. She also complained about poor communication. Mrs X said this distressed her family. There was fault in the way the Council delayed approving the application and miscommunication. This fault distressed and frustrated Mrs X. The Council should apologise, make a financial payment and remind staff about its duties.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Councils handling of her Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) application. She also complained about poor communication. Mrs X said this distressed her family.

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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. If we are satisfied with a Council’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)
4. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
5. 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)
6. I have exercised discretion to consider events in this case back to the application in June 2022. I reference events prior to this for context in this matter. I have seen Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman about this matter within 12 months of becoming aware of the delays complained about.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I read Mrs X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
8. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

10. Disabled Facilities Grants are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable.
11. Relevant councils must promote ‘wellbeing’ when carrying out care and support functions. Wellbeing includes the suitability of living accommodation. The Care Act 2014 recognises suitable accommodation as one way of meeting care and support needs. Prevention is critical to the Care Act and home adaptation is an example of secondary prevention.
12. The maximum grant payable by a council is £30,000. A council can award other discretionary help if it thinks it is necessary. The council grant amount is subject to a means test. The test does not apply to applications from landlords, or from parents for grants for their disabled children. Regardless of who makes the application, the means test applies to the disabled person (the ‘relevant person’). If the relevant person has a partner, their finances are assessed jointly.
13. In March 2022 the government issued non-statutory guidance “Disabled facilities Grant (DFG) Delivery: Guidance for local authorities in England.
14. This guidance advises councils in England on how they can effectively and efficiently deliver DFG funded adaptations to best serve the needs of local older and disabled people. It brings together and sets out in one place existing policy frameworks, legislative duties and powers, together with recommended best practice, to help councils provide an adaptation service to disabled tenants and residents in their area.
15. The March 2022 guidance identifies five key stages to delivering home adaptations:

• Stage 1: First contact with the service. Councils should ensure the public has access to information and advice about the DFG process.
• Stage 2: First contact to assessment and identification of the relevant works. An occupational therapist (OT) will assess the person’s needs and potential solutions through home adaptations.
• Stage 3: Identification of the relevant works to submission of the formal grant application. The person completes and submits the application form together with designs and costing for the works (where necessary).
• Stage 4: Grant application to grant decision. The Council will check the application and issue a decision letter. If a council refuses a grant, it must explain why.
• Stage 5: Approval of grant to completion of works. The works are arranged and carried out and the necessary quality checks made.

16. A council should decide a grant application as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, the timescales for moving through the stages will depend on the urgency and complexity of the works required. The guidance gives the following timescales:

• Urgent and simple works – 55 working days
• Non-urgent and simple works – 130 working days
• Urgent and complex works – 130 days
• Non-urgent and complex works – 180 working days

17. The Council must ensure the work is completed within 12 months of the application approval.
18. Once the work is complete, the council must pay the grant in full within 12 months of the application date.
19. We expect councils to consider whether interim equipment or temporary works should be provided when it will take them a long time to secure a permanent solution.

What happened

20. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
21. Mrs X’s son has complex additional needs. The Council adapted the previous family home in 2014 using a DFG. The family signed an agreement confirming if they moved within 10 years, they would need to pay a charge.
22. Mrs X decided to move in 2021. She said she contacted the Council and asked about the charge and the Council said the family would not need to pay. I have seen no evidence to support this claim. The family moved in 2021. The solicitor did not ask the family to repay any charge.
23. The Council completed the DFG application in June 2022.
24. The Council visited the family to consider the application in September 2022.
25. Mrs X continued to chase the Council for updates.
26. The Council visited the family to consider the design choices in February 2023.
27. The designer completed the plans in May 2023. Mrs X agreed with the plans.
28. The Council agreed to the plans at the end of June 2023.
29. Mrs X continued to chase the Council for updates.
30. The Council received prices for the works in December 2023. The costs were over the £30,000 maximum grant allowance. The Council decided to complete part of the work, a downstairs wet room, to speed up the process and consider other parts of the application later.
31. The Council contractor visited in January 2024. The Council had to redesign the wet room.
32. The Council arranged for the works. At the end of February 2024, when the works were due to start, a solicitor contacted the Council. The solicitor stated the new owner of the previous home was trying to sell the property, but the solicitor noticed the Council charge on the property.
33. The Council told Mrs X of the charge. It told Mrs X she needed to repay approximately £2,000 from the charge. It said it could not issue any grant until the family resolved the issue. The Council then told Mrs X this was the charge at the time of the call. It stated when the family moved the charge was approximately £8,500.
34. Mrs X complained to the Council in March 2024. She complained about the delays in the DFG process and the issues with the charge on the previous property. Mrs X said she spoke to the Council who confirmed she did not have to pay a charge.
35. The Council contacted the solicitor responsible for completing the sale in 2021. The solicitor accepted it was at fault and paid the outstanding charge.
36. The Council approved the grant for the wet room at the end of March 2024.
37. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint at the end of March 2024. The Council apologised for the distress the delays caused. The Council stated extensions do take a long time and the amount needed was over the maximum grant so it would need to consider discretionary funding. The response stated the signed agreement detailed the charge on the previous property. The response explained the solicitor was at fault and paid the charge.
38. Mrs X asked the Council to escalate her complaint in April 2024. She said the response did not explain the reason for the delays and the Council had not completed the work. Mrs X said the Council did not confirm in writing she would not have to pay a charge. She said it said this on the phone. She said Council had not mentioned the charge throughout the process.
39. The Council issued its stage two response at the end of April 2024. It apologised for the delay and communication issues. The Council assured Mrs X the work would start in May 2024. The Council said the stage one response set out the issues and further investigation would not add to this response.
40. The Council approved the grant for the full works, including discretionary funding in June 2024. The work was completed in August 2024.
41. Mrs X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mrs X would like the Council to ensure this does not happen again.
42. In response to my enquiries the Council stated it did not find out about the land charge until a solicitor contacted it in February 2024. The Council accepted it had a backlog of work following the Covid 19 pandemic. The Council stated the work was complex and extensions take a long time to complete.

My findings

DFG application and works

43. The guidance sets out the expected timescales to consider the DFG application. The maximum time in the guidance, considering complex matters, is 180 days, six months. The Council approved part of the work, the wet room, 18 months after the application. The Council accepted this delay. This delay is fault. This distressed and frustrated Mrs X.
44. The Council approved the rest of the work from the application in June 2024, two years after the application. The Council accepted this delay. This delay is fault. This distressed and frustrated Mrs X.
45. Following the Council approval of the application, the work was completed within 12 months. The Council was not at fault.

Land charge

46. Mrs X said she spoke to the Council before she moved. She said the officer told her there was no charge on the property. I have seen no evidence to support Mrs X’s view. The Council has evidenced an agreement between Mrs X and the Council, where she agreed to the charge.
47. The Council was not aware of any issue relating to the charge on the previous home. It has evidenced when it became aware of the issue, when the new owner tried to sell the house, it contacted Mrs X.
48. The land charge is not a matter for the Council. The solicitor accepted it should have picked this up at the point of sale and did not. The solicitor accepted its mistake and paid the charge. The council is not responsible for the charge. The Council was not at fault.
49. Mrs X said the call with the Council distressed her. She said she was told she owed £2,000 but this then increased to £8,500. The Council accepted the miscommunication was fault. This distressed Mrs X.

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Agreed action

50. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mrs X and her family by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mrs X for distress and frustration caused by the Council fault. This apology should be in accordance with the Ombudsman’s new guidance Making an effective apology.
• Pay Mrs X £300 as an acknowledgement the distress and frustration caused by the Council fault.
• Remind relevant staff of the timescales in the guidance for DFG applications.
51. The Council should provide evidence of the actions taken to satisfy the recommendations.

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Final decision

52. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Mrs X and her family.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman