London Borough of Wandsworth (18 009 838)

Category : Benefits and tax > Other

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 15 Apr 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss B says the Council delayed processing her discretionary housing payment applications and failed to award an amount to cover her full rent. There is no fault in how the Council calculated how much to provide as a discretionary housing payment. The Council delayed processing some of Miss B’s applications which led to her going to time and trouble to pursue her complaint and caused her stress due to rent arrears. An apology and payment to Miss B is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss B, complained the Council:
    • delayed processing her discretionary housing payment applications; and
    • failed to award an amount to cover her full rent.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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. The Ombudsman cannot question whether a Council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. He must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended and section 34(3))
  2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. As part of the investigation, I have:
    • considered the complaint and Miss B's comments;
    • made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
    • considered Miss B’s comments on my draft decision; and
    • gave the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision

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What I found

  1. Miss B lives in a three-bedroom privately rented property with her two sons. Until her second son turned 16 in October 2018 she was only entitled to a two-bedroom local housing allowance when calculating her housing benefit. However, Miss B says her sons cannot share a bedroom which is why she needs a three-bedroom property.
  2. As Miss B’s rent exceeds the local housing allowance her housing benefit does not cover her full rent. Miss B also works full-time, which affects the amount of housing benefit she receives. As Miss B was struggling to cover the difference between her housing benefit and the rent she has to pay she asked the Council for a discretionary housing payment on 13 July 2017. Miss B chased the Council on 25 July and 10 August. I understand during that period the Council was recalculating Miss B’s housing benefit as she had challenged the amount of income the Council had used. The Council adjusted Miss B’s housing benefit on 24 August. Miss B’s Councillor contacted the Council to chase what was happening with the application for a discretionary housing payment and said Miss B’s landlord was threatening her with eviction. The Council awarded a discretionary housing payment on 12 September. That covered the period 12 May 2017-17 December 2017. The Council awarded an amount to reflect the difference between Miss B’s rent and the local housing allowance.
  3. Miss B asked for a further discretionary housing payment on 18 January 2018. Miss B chased the Council on 20 March. On 26 March the Council awarded a further discretionary housing payment for the period 18 December 2017-25 March 2018. The Council awarded an amount to reflect the difference between Miss B’s rent and her local housing allowance as well as an additional amount to reflect the reduction in her housing benefit due to excess income.
  4. Miss B asked for a further discretionary housing payment on 24 April. The Council asked Miss B to provide some additional information on 4 July. Miss B provided that on 11 July. On 21 July the Council awarded a discretionary housing payment for the period 26 March 2018-28 October 2018. The Council awarded an amount to reflect the difference between local housing allowance for a two-bedroom property and the local housing allowance for a three-bedroom property. Miss B appealed against that decision. The Council did not change the amount awarded.
  5. In November 2018 Miss B applied for another discretionary housing payment. On 15 November the Council awarded a discretionary housing payment for the period 29 October 2018-31 March 2019. The Council awarded an amount to reflect the difference between Miss B’s rent and her local housing allowance as well as an additional amount to reflect the reduction in her housing benefit due to excess income. The Council made clear it had done that to take into account Miss B’s financial situation and the impact on her health and family. The Council told Miss B it had made that award to give her extra time to find a resolution to her financial situation.

The Council’s discretionary housing payment policy

  1. The policy says awards of discretionary housing payment are, except in exceptional circumstances, interim support for households while long-term solutions are found. It makes clear in making an award the Council expects the customer to resolve their financial difficulties or find a housing solution which is more suited to their financial and household situation.
  2. The Council’s policy says an award will generally be for 13 or 26 weeks. The policy makes clear an initial award is no guarantee subsequent applications will be awarded.
  3. The Council’s policy says the award will be the equivalent to the lower of the following:
    • the amount the rent exceeds the threshold rent level; or
    • the difference between the housing benefit award and the eligible rent.
  4. The Council’s policy says where the level of the award does not meet the household full rent an application can be made for a further award to meet the shortfall.

Analysis

  1. Miss B says the Council delayed processing her application for a discretionary housing payment. I am satisfied Miss B made four applications for a discretionary housing payment between July 2017 and November 2017. The Council’s policy says it aims to respond to applications within 10 working days. With the exception of the November application the Council failed to meet that target.
  2. I do not criticise the Council for the delay processing the July 2017 application. That is because at the point at which Miss B applied for a discretionary housing payment she had also asked the Council to recalculate her housing benefit as she said the Council had used the wrong income figures. The decision on whether to award a discretionary housing payment and how much an award should be is affected by the decision on the housing benefit application. I therefore do not criticise the Council for not processing the discretionary housing payment application until after it decided how much housing benefit Miss B was entitled to. However, I would have expected the Council to tell Miss B the reason it had not processed her application, particularly as she chased the Council several times. Failure to do that is fault.
  3. In relation to the second application in January 2018 the Council again did not meet the 10 working day target. The Council did not process that application until 26 March. That is a significant delay and is fault.
  4. The Council also delayed dealing with the application in April 2018. The Council says this application was also delayed by changes to Miss B’s housing benefit. However, none of the documentary evidence I have seen confirms that. As far as I can see, the only change to Miss B’s housing benefit between January 2018 and April 2018 happened when the Council updated the local housing allowance in April 2018. In the absence of any evidence showing the Council was dealing with changes to Miss B’s housing benefit between April 2018 and June 2018 I consider the Council at fault for not processing her application until July 2018. I am also concerned the Council waited until 4 July 2018 to ask Miss B for supporting information for her application. I see no reason why, even if there had been an ongoing housing benefit recalculation, the Council could not have asked Miss B for that information earlier. Failure to do that is fault.
  5. I am satisfied there was no delay considering Miss B’s application for a discretionary housing payment in November 2018.
  6. So, I have found the Council at fault for delays processing the January 2018 and April 2018 discretionary housing payment applications. I am satisfied those delays led to Miss B having to go to time and trouble to pursue her complaint. It is also likely those delays created rent arrears and the additional stress that would have involved. As remedy for the complaint the Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and pay her £250.
  7. Miss B says the Council failed to award an amount to cover her full rent. The first point to make is the Council has discretion about whether to award a discretionary housing payment and, if an award is made, the Council has discretion about the amount it can award. I refer to the Council’s policy on the amount to be awarded in paragraphs 12 and 13. I have considered each award of discretionary housing payment to establish whether the Council’s award followed its policy. For the first application I am satisfied it did. For that application the Council awarded the difference between Miss B’s rent and the local housing allowance. As that is in accordance with the Council’s policy I have no grounds to criticise it.
  8. For the March 2018 award the Council again followed its policy. In that case it awarded an amount both to reflect the difference between Miss B’s rent and the local housing allowance and an additional amount to reflect the reduction in housing benefit due to Miss B’s excess income. As the Council awarded an amount in accordance with its policy I have no grounds to criticise it.
  9. The July 2018 award is slightly different. In that case the Council awarded the difference between the local housing allowance for a two-bedroom property and the local housing allowance for a three-bedroom property. That did not follow the Council’s description of how it would award a discretionary housing payment, as set out in its policy. I am concerned the Council did not explain its different approach when it wrote to Miss B to tell her about the award. However, I am satisfied the Council gave a detailed explanation of its reasoning when Miss B requested a review. At that point the Council told Miss B it had decided it was reasonable to award an amount to cover the costs of an additional bedroom. The Council went on to explain Miss B had a shortfall partly because the property has a rent more than the local housing allowance and partly because Miss B had income in excess of the amount the Government states she needs to live on. The Council said as a result she was expected to contribute towards her rent and the Council had taken into account the amount it had already paid in discretionary housing payments. The Council also stressed a discretionary housing payment was not intended to be a long-term solution. As I am satisfied the Council explained its reasoning for reaching a different conclusion in July 2018 I have no grounds to criticise it. As I said, Miss B does not have an entitlement to a discretionary housing payment as, by its very nature, it is a discretionary award.
  10. I understand Miss B’s confusion though because the Council again awarded a higher amount in November 2018. At that point the Council awarded an amount to reflect the difference between Miss B’s rent and the local housing allowance and an amount to reflect the fact Miss B had excess income which reduced her housing benefit. As with the March 2018 award, that again reflects the Council’s policy. I am satisfied the Council made a greater award than it had in July 2018 because it considered Miss B’s current financial situation and the impact on her health and family. The evidence I have seen satisfies me the Council made the award to help pay towards Miss B’s rent shortfall to prevent rent arrears occurring. The Council also made clear it would not normally have made such an award but had done so in this case to give Miss B more time to find a resolution to her financial issues so she could cover the shortfall from her disposable income. As what the Council awarded was in accordance with its policy I have no grounds to criticise it. As I have made clear, discretionary housing payments are not intended to be long-term or necessarily to cover a person’s entire rent. In this case I am satisfied the Council has processed Miss B’s applications appropriately and has awarded an amount in accordance with its policy.

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Agreed action

  1. Within one month of my decision the Council should:
    • apologise to Miss B for the delays in processing her discretionary housing payment applications; and
    • pay her £250.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council in part of the complaint which caused Miss B an injustice. I am satisfied the action the Council will take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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