Summary: Miss X complains the Council has not dealt with her housing properly. The Council is at fault because it delayed asking for evidence about Miss X’s medical circumstances in August 2020. The provision of housing for Miss X was delayed. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay Miss X £200 for distress.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complains that the Council have not dealt with her housing needs properly because:
• It did not provide her with suitable temporary accommodation from November 2020.
• It hasn’t taken proper account of her medical circumstances and has not assessed her housing priority properly – placing her in Band 2 not Band 1
• It has not followed its allocations policy.
• It has not taken account of her needs in relation to her current accommodation as it is located in one of her red areas and has no working secondary exit due the rear gate being damaged.
2. Miss X says she has not been offered housing that was appropriate or safe.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(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 Miss X about her complaint and considered documents she provided. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response and the supporting documents it provided.
7. Miss X and the organisation 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

Law, guidance and policies

8. The Council’s allocations policy states that homeless households towards whom the full duty has been accepted by Harlow Council, or a household with a high need to move for medical or social reasons (assessed as a “high" priority) as defined by Harlow Council, will be eligible for Band Two priority – High Need to Move.

What happened?

9. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
10. Miss X experienced problems with her housing due to relationship problems. In March 2020 she applied to the Council for housing, because she was homeless. Miss X’s circumstances were considered by the Council’s harassment panel.
11. In July 2020, Miss X moved to a different property with her partner. In August she asked the Council to consider her medical circumstances. The Council asked for supporting evidence about this at the end of October 2020.
12. The Council provided Miss X with temporary accommodation from early November 2020. In early December 2020 it accepted the full homelessness duty towards her housing.
13. In 2021, Miss X experienced problems at the temporary accommodation. The Council reviewed Miss X’s medical needs and priority in April 2021.
14. Miss X complained to the Council at stage one of its complaints process regarding temporary accommodation, housing priority and danger areas. The Council did not uphold her complaint.
15. In May, Miss X complained at stage two. The Council agreed to expand Miss X’s housing needs to incorporate 2-+bedroom flats. Miss X complained at stage three.
16. The Council provided Miss X with alternative temporary accommodation in June 2021.
17. The Council made its final complaint response and did not uphold Miss X’s complaint because her priority was correct and it had taken account of unsafe areas she had indicated she would be unable to live in.
18. The Council received information from Miss X about the areas it was safe for her to live in on several occasions.
19. The Council provided permanent accommodation in a two-bedroom maisonette for Miss X in September 2021. Miss X says this also didn’t take account of her safety needs.

Analysis

Suitable temporary accommodation

20. The Council accepts there was a delay in requesting supporting medical information from Miss X in relation to her initial homelessness application. Miss X submitted a medical form in August 2020 but the Council did not write to Miss X asking her to provide supporting information until the end of October.
21. Miss X provided supporting information predating her medical form within several days of being asked to in October. On the balance of probabilities, she would have provided this information earlier if asked to do so. There was therefore a two-month delay to providing Miss X with temporary accommodation. This is fault by the Council. Miss X could have been provided with temporary accommodation up to two months earlier which caused her distress.
22. Documents provided by the Council show it:
• placed Miss X in temporary accommodation A between early November 2020 and June 2021;
• accepted a main housing duty to Miss X at the end of November 2020.
23. Miss X was advised that she had a right to review of the suitability of temporary accommodation A. Miss X did not ask for a review.
24. Miss X raised issued regarding smoke at temporary accommodation A in early April 2021. The Council investigated Miss X’s concerns, sought medical advice and agreed to move her to alternative temporary accommodation.
25. Miss X was moved to temporary accommodation B in early June 2021. Emails and documents from the Council show there was a short delay due to finding accommodation that both met her housing needs and also was in an area considered safe for her. The Council provided suitable temporary accommodation after November 2020. This is not fault by the Council.

Housing Priority/Allocations Policy

26. Once it had accepted the main housing duty to Miss X in the Council placed her into Band Two priority. This was in line with its allocations policy. This is not fault by the Council.
27. Miss X’s priority date was 6th July 2020. This was the date Miss X moved into the property she was living in before being provided with temporary accommodation. This is not fault by the Council.
28. Miss X completed a medical form in August 2021 and the Council received medical advice regarding this. Miss X was advised of the outcome in September.
29. I have seen the medical advice letter which shows that the Council considered all the information available to it.
30. The Council followed its allocations policy. Although Miss X may not agree with the outcome of the decision, this is not fault by the Council.

Miss X’s current accommodation

31. The Council took account of information provided by Miss X about where she considered it was unsafe for her to live. The Council offered Miss X permanent accommodation. Miss X inspected the property location and accepted it. This is not fault by the Council.
32. Documents from the Council show it agreed to repair a rear gate so that it was useable as an escape route if necessary. The Council repaired the gate in six weeks. There is no evidence there was any threat to Miss X during this time. This is not fault by the Council.

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Agreed action

33. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of this decision:
• Apologise to Miss X; and
• Pay Miss X £200 for her avoidable distress.

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Final decision

34. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Miss X. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman