Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to take account of domestic violence when deciding her discretionary housing payment claim. We have completed our investigation because while there was fault by the Council, it did not cause Mrs X injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant whom I shall call Mrs X, complains the Council wrongly refused to pay her an additional discretionary housing payment (DHP). She says the Council failed to consider government guidance regarding victims of domestic violence. Mrs X borrowed money for housing costs that she cannot now repay.

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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 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

4. I have discussed the complaint with the complainant and considered the complaint and the copy correspondence provided by the complainant. I have made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Discretionary Housing Payments

5. DHPs provide financial support towards housing costs and are paid by an LA [local authority] when they are satisfied that a claimant needs further financial assistance with housing costs and is in receipt of either:
• Housing Benefit (HB) or
• Universal Credit (UC) with housing costs towards rental liability

(Department for Work and Pensions DHP Guidance Manual (updated 31/5/22))

6. The DHP regulations which apply here state that:

2. (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and the following regulations, a relevant authority may make payments by way of financial assistance (“discretionary housing payments”) to persons who—

(a) are entitled to housing benefit or council tax benefit or to both; and

(b) appear to such an authority to require some further financial assistance (in addition to the benefit or benefits to which they are entitled) in order to meet housing costs.

(Discretionary Financial Assistance (DFA) Regulations 2001.)

What happened

7. Mrs X moved out of her marital home due to domestic violence to a hotel. Her marital home is owned by her husband. Mrs X claimed Universal Credit which included a housing cost element for the hotel charge. However, it did not cover the full costs.
8. Mrs X moved back to her martial home because she was unable to pay the housing costs. She had an occupation order from the court which enabled her to return home. She then arranged to move into rented accommodation. But she had to pay a deposit, rent in advance and moving costs. She made a claim for DHP stating she needed £2000. She provided evidence that UC paid an element of housing costs while she was at the hotel and at her marital home.
9. Mrs X moved into her new rented accommodation a week after having made her DHP claim, which the Council had not yet decided. Mrs X borrowed money from a relative to cover her rent in advance and her deposit. These up front charges were £1561. She also paid removal costs of around £75.
10. Shortly after Mrs X moved, the Council paid a DHP of £910 for her rent deposit and moving costs on the basis she received housing costs within her UC.
11. Mrs X contacted Council to say the DHP amount was not enough, she also needed money for a month’s rent in advance, and she had to repay her relative.
12. The Council replied that it could not pay further DHP because she would receive the housing element of Universal Credit, which is paid monthly in arrears. Therefore, there was likely to be a duplication of payments if the Council paid for a month’s rent in advance. The Council noted that when the DWP paid the UC, there would be a rent shortfall of approximately £25 per week. The Council considered this was a reasonable amount for Mrs X to pay herself.
13. Mrs X complained that the Council was wrong to refuse to pay her rent in advance. She said it had failed to take account that she was threatened with domestic violence. She said the government guidance regarding DHPs stated Councils should consider domestic violence, and the Council did not do this.
14. The Council replied at the final stage of its complaints procedure. It gave details of the DHP regulations and guidance which referred to a court of appeal decision, R v, LB Lambeth, ex parte Gargett. This decision set out that any housing benefit already paid towards housing costs must be deducted when calculating the amount of DHP to avoid duplicate provision. The Council had therefore refused to grant rent in advance as the DWP would pay UC for this period.
15. The Council further explained that when Mrs X applied for a DHP she was living at her marital home. As this was owned by Mr X, she did not pay housing costs. But she had also provided a copy of her entitlement to UC housing costs while she was living at the hotel. The Council granted a DHP on the basis of that she was liable for housing costs. However, as she had returned to her marital home when she made her claim for DHP she was not liable for housing costs and therefore she was not eligible for DHP. However, the Council said it would not reclaim the DHP it had paid in error.
16. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman that the Council had paid a deposit and moving costs, but she also needed a month in advance. As UC is paid in arrears she did not have this in order to make payments before moving in. As a result she could not pay her relative’s loan back. In her view the Council should have taken account of her circumstances, particularly that she was a victim of domestic violence.

Analysis

17. I have considered the information Mrs X sent me about domestic abuse and DHPs. The DWP advises that DHP’s are aimed at certain groups, such as individuals or families fleeing domestic violence and abuse. DHPs may also be given to domestic abuse victims who have remained in their home which has been adapted under a sanctuary scheme. So, I agree government guidance advises Councils to consider supporting victims of domestic abuse using DHPs.
18. However, the regulations which apply to paying DHPs do not allow an exception to the main eligibility rule that the claimant must be receiving housing benefit or the housing element of UC when the claimant makes the claim. As Mrs X was not claiming housing benefit or the UC housing element at the time of her claim, she was not eligible for a DHP. I do not consider there is fault by the Council here.
19. The Council has confirmed that it paid a DHP to Mrs X when it should not have done so because she was not eligible as she had moved back to the marital home at the point she claimed. The issue regarding the Council not paying rent in advance as well as a deposit is not relevant here because Mrs X was not entitled to any DHP.
20. The Council paid a DHP in error, but it is not seeking repayment from Mrs X. Therefore, while this payment was fault, I cannot say it caused injustice to Mrs X, because she has not had to repay the money.

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Final decision

21. I have not found fault causing injustice. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman