Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to provide her with appropriate support when she was evicted from her property in 2021. She said it has then failed to resolve her homelessness. The Council was not at fault. It was the court’s decision to evict Ms X in 2021 and since then the Council has provided Ms X with appropriate support. There is no fault in how it has handled her homelessness situation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of her homelessness since she was evicted from her private rented accommodation in 2021. She says the Council failed to help her prior to the eviction and since then she has had to pay for her own accommodation in hotels, some of which have unfairly evicted her.
2. Ms X says she remains homeless which is causing her distress, financial loss and is affecting her physical and mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
5. 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

6. I spoke to Ms X about her complaint and considered information she provided.
7. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiry letter.
8. Ms X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments before I made a final decision.

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What I found

9. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
10. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
11. Section 195 provides that where councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must take reasonable steps to help prevent their homelessness. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
12. Where a council is satisfied a person is homeless and eligible for support, it has a duty to take reasonable steps to help the person secure accommodation that will be available for at least six months. This is the relief duty and applies for 56 days
13. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan (PHP). PHPs should be kept under review. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 11)
14. A council will apply four tests to decide what, if any, duty it owes to a homeless applicant. Councils will make inquiries to find out if the applicant is:
• eligible for assistance;
• homeless or threatened with homelessness;
• in priority need (e.g. is vulnerable, has dependent children etc.);
• not intentionally homeless.
15. A council has an immediate duty, whilst it makes its enquiries, to secure interim accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
16. A council can end its duty to accommodate under section 188 in various circumstances including when it decides it does not owe the applicant a duty under section 190 (duty to persons who are intentionally homeless). There is no right of review to this decision. Any challenge is by way of judicial review only.

Section 8 notice of seeking possession

17. Landlords can evict tenants using a Section 8 notice if they have broken the terms of the tenancy. Landlords can apply to the court for a possession order if tenants do not leave by the specified date. The judge will then decide whether the tenant should be evicted or whether they can stay at the property.

What happened

18. In 2021 Ms X lived in private rented accommodation. In June 2021 the court issued Ms X with a possession order. Records show Ms X’s landlord applied to evict her from the property because of rent arrears totalling over £9,000.
19. Case records show the Council had various meetings and inputs with Ms X following the possession order to try and assist her. The Council carried out a mental capacity assessment which showed Ms X had capacity to make her own decisions. The case records show Ms X was aware of the rent arrears and reasons for the possession order. Records show Ms X obtained legal advice and a solicitor to help deal with her case.
20. The case records show the Council started a homelessness assessment with Ms X in September 2021 but the Council said Ms X would not disclose enough information about her finances for it to complete the assessment. Records also show Ms X would not give her consent for the Council to contact support agencies.
21. In December 2021 the court ordered Ms X’s eviction and so Ms X became homeless. The Council wrote to Ms X explaining it had accepted the relief duty and that it believed she was in priority need. The Council asked Ms X to contact it so it could complete the homelessness assessment and provided her with interim accommodation at hotel 1.
22. After a few days hotel 1 contacted the Council and requested it make no further bookings for Ms X due to problems it had with her. The Council booked her into hotel 2. Records show the Council spoke with Ms X about offering her supported accommodation, however she was unhappy with this and asked it to continue booking her hotels until she was ready to decide what to do next. Ms X told the Council she wanted accommodation in a specific area. The Council agreed to continue providing interim accommodation at hotel 2 and wrote to her confirming this along with the consequences should she be asked to leave because of her behaviour. The Council provided Ms X with a personalised housing plan (PHP) which explained what steps she should take to find new accommodation.
23. In mid-December 2021 hotel 2 asked Ms X to leave due to her behaviour. The Council wrote to Ms X explaining it was ending its duty to provide her with interim accommodation. The letter explained the reason which was due to her behaviour at hotel 2. Records show the Council called Ms X and read the letter out to her. The Council confirmed it would continue assisting her to resolve her homelessness under the relief duty.
24. In January 2022 Ms X complained to us about a lack of support around her eviction and homelessness. Ms X said she was funding her own stays at hotels following her eviction. We asked the Council to respond to Ms X under its complaints’ procedure.
25. Records show the Council had no further contact from Ms X until the start of February 2022. The case records show Ms X left a message stating she was homeless and had run out of money to pay for accommodation. Records show the Council agreed to provide Ms X with accommodation at hotel 3 under its discretionary powers to accommodate.
26. The Council responded to Ms X at stage 1 of its complaints procedure in March 2022. The Council outlined the support it offered Ms X prior to her eviction from the private rented property. It explained Ms X had failed to engage in completing the homelessness application and would not accept support from housing. The Council said a social worker had made attempts to contact her without success. The Council said it had been unable to assist further due to her lack of engagement.
27. In March 2022 the Council told Ms X it was willing clear the rent arrears with her previous landlord to create a pathway for her to access social housing. The Council asked Ms X to provide it with her finances and income so it could assess which properties she could afford. The Council sent Ms X a form to complete. There is no evidence Ms X completed this form.
28. In early April 2022 hotel 3 asked Ms X to leave due to her behaviour. The hotel chain asked the Council not to book Ms X into any of its hotels again. The Council wrote to Ms X and told her it had ended its power to accommodate her due to her being evicted from hotel 3 because of her behaviour.
29. Records show Ms X’s MP wrote to the Council about Ms X’s homelessness. The Council responded to the MP. It said Ms X’s placement at hotel 3 was ended due to her behaviour which was a reoccurring issue. It said it had tried to contact her to assist with her homelessness without success. It told the MP it had cleared her previous rent arrears so she now had the opportunity to seek suitable accommodation in both private and social housing. However, Ms X was not engaging or providing relevant documentation and financial information.
30. In May 2022 the Council agreed to meet with Ms X at a church, along with an advocate from the church. It said it explained at this meeting how Ms X could join the housing register and start applying for houses. It said Ms X would not give permission for the Council to apply for houses on her behalf.
31. At the end of May 2022, the Council became aware of a decline in Ms X’s health. It therefore decided to use its discretionary powers to provide Ms X with further interim accommodation at various places on a week-by-week basis. Its agreement to do this is ongoing.
32. Ms X brought the matter to us and we agreed to investigate.

The Council’s response to us

33. The Council said it currently owes Ms X a relief duty and continues using its discretionary powers to provide interim accommodation. It said it had considered making a onetime offer of temporary accommodation but said it would be counterproductive because Ms X only wants to live in a specific area where it has no available housing. It said to date that no meaningful progress has been made because Ms X has not engaged with it or made any efforts to follow her PHP.
34. The Council said rather than ending its relief duty due to Ms X’s lack of engagement it will continue making efforts to work with her to find her settled accommodation.
35. The Council said Adult Social Care has received a single referral which it sent to the mental health team to progress in April 2022, however Ms X did not give consent for it to progress this.

My findings

36. Some of Ms X’s complaints are around her eviction from private rented accommodation in 2021 because of rent arrears. The court has already considered the circumstances, evidence, events and decisions around this so it is out of our jurisdiction. I therefore only considered the Council’s actions in line with its homelessness duties.
37. When the court issued Ms X with a possession order in June 2021 the records show the Council provided initial support to Ms X and attempted to complete a homelessness assessment without success. Officers met with her, explored agencies who may have been able to assist and provided ways of obtaining legal advice, which she did. Records show officers also tried to mediate with the landlord and provided her with details of a money advisor and welfare support in an attempt to prevent the eviction and prevent homelessness. Ultimately it was the court’s decision to evict Ms X. The Council was not at fault.
38. Ms X became homeless in December 2021 and the Council appropriately told Ms X it owed her a relief duty. It provided her with interim hotel accommodation at Ms X’s request, at hotel 1. The Council provided Ms X with a PHP which explained the steps she needed to take to secure settled accommodation.
39. Records show it was Ms X’s behaviour which caused her eviction from hotel 1 and the Council ended its interim duty. The Council was not at fault.
40. There was a lack of contact between Ms X and the Council between December 2021 and February 2022. Ms X said she paid for her own accommodation during this period. However, that was not through Council fault. The Council had ended its interim duty and Ms X was aware of the steps she needed to take to complete the homelessness assessment and progress her PHP.
41. The Council appropriately used its discretion to provide Ms X with further hotel accommodation at hotel 2 and then again at hotel 3. Ms X lost her place at both of these hotels due to her own behaviour. The Council was not at fault.
42. Due to the ongoing situation the Council decided to write off Ms X’s rent arrears leaving the path open for her to apply for both private and social housing with no barriers. To date however there is no evidence that Ms X has provided the Council with relevant documentation, financial information or consent to progress matters and she has not complied with her PHP. It is not through Council fault that Ms X is not living in settled accommodation.
43. Ms X remains living in interim accommodation, booked on a week-by-week basis by the Council at its discretion and it continues to owe her a relief duty. It was open to the Council to offer Ms X temporary accommodation and then to discharge its duty if she refused this. It has not done so because it is likely she will decline it which is counterproductive.
44. It is open for Ms X to contact the Council at any time to progress her PHP and find settled accommodation. It is open for her to provide the Council with relevant information and documentation and consent for it to progress the matter. The Council is open and willing to bid for properties on her behalf and make referrals to external agencies with her consent. It has taken appropriate steps throughout to assist Ms X and is not at fault.

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Final decision

45. I completed my investigation because the Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman