Summary: Miss K complained the Council abruptly moved her without enough notice to another temporary accommodation. She also said the new accommodation was unsuitable. We found the Council at fault for failing to give Miss K enough notice about the move and properly consider the impact this caused her. The Council agreed make payment to Miss K to acknowledge the distress and additional removal costs its short notice caused her. It also agreed she can request for a suitability review if she wishes to do so now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss K, complained the Council abruptly moved her without enough notice from a temporary accommodation she had been in for four years. She said:
• the Council failed to properly consider how the move impacted her and her son; and
• her new temporary accommodation is unsuitable.
2. As a result, Miss K said she experienced distress and she had financial costs due to the move.

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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. 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

5. As part of my investigation, I have:
• considered Miss K’s complaint and the Council’s responses;
• discussed the complaint with Miss K and considered the information she provided;
• considered the information the Council provided in response to our enquiries; and
• considered the relevant law, guidance and Council Policy.
6. Miss K 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

The Housing Act 1966

7. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))

Council Policy

8. The Council’s Housing Allocation Scheme says:
• housing applicants can request a review of the Council’s decisions within 21 days of the decision being made. This must be in writing and can be through a representative.
• reviews will be considered by its Housing Choice Team leader, who has not been involved in the original decision.
• a review decision can be further appealed to the Council’s Welfare Panel, which final decision cannot be reviewed further.
9. It also says the Council can move a temporary accommodation tenant to another temporary accommodation as part of its management functions.

What happened

10. In 2017 Miss K applied for housing under the Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme.
11. The Council placed her and her son in a temporary accommodation in a neighbouring Council. The accommodation was let through a private landlord.
12. In 2021 Miss K was still in the temporary accommodation with her son. She was working in the area and her son was going to a local school near to the accommodation.
13. In Spring 2021, the Council cancelled Miss K’s temporary accommodation with the private landlord.
14. Three weeks later the Council’s Housing Officer called Miss K. He told her she had to move out of her temporary accommodation, as the Council had found another suitable temporary accommodation within the Council’s area. She was told she had five days to move.
15. Miss K said she was given two further days to move out as she told the Housing Officer the notice was too short and asked for more time.
16. Miss K complained to the Council. She was unhappy it had cancelled her accommodation and said she had no funds to move out or access to a van.
17. A week later, Miss K moved to the new temporary accommodation. She signed the new tenancy agreement. She said she had to pay a moving company to help her move on short notice.
18. On the same day, the Council responded to Miss K’s complaint. It apologised for the short notice of her move and agreed the move had been handled poorly. Miss K was asked to provide more details about her experience, so the Council could highlight her concerns to its team to prevent such issues in the future. It also explained it had decided to move her as her accommodation was privately rented and it now had a property available within its own stock.
19. Miss K complained to the Council again. This included supporting letters from her therapist and her employer. She said the move had caused her and her son distress and financial costs. This was because:
• the Council had cancelled her accommodation with such short notice. She had no help to move her belongings and had to pay a removal company £664,59 for help to do so;
• the move had impacted her mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, which she takes medication for;
• the move would result in four hours each day in extra travel for her to attend work and take her son to school;
• the new accommodation was more expensive as the rent and bills were higher; and
• she felt the Housing Officer had failed to listen to her requests not to be moved and acted maliciously towards her.
20. In its final response, the Council partially upheld Miss K’s complaint. It apologised for the distress she had experienced as she had not been given the reasonable time frame she needed to move out of her accommodation. It accepted a move could be distressing, however, it explained:
• it was necessary for her to leave the accommodation on the short notice to avoid being liable for rent for two properties;
• it had not found its Housing Officer acted maliciously or failed in its duty of care toward her;
• it did not agree Miss K had to travel an additional four hours to its neighbouring Borough and asked her to provide evidence of this; and
• it had reviewed her housing application and encouraged her to keep bidding for permanent accommodation.
21. Miss K was not satisfied with the Council’s response. So, she complained to the Ombudsman. She said it had failed to:
• offer support to move and reimburse the financial costs she had to do so;
• consider he increased rental costs and bills; and
• consider the impact the short notice of the move had on her and her son.
22. Miss K also said she found the new temporary accommodation unsuitable due to its location, size, it had no washing machine, and its fridge was too small for her needs.
23. In response to our enquiries the Council said Miss K has not requested a suitability review for it to consider.

Analysis

The move between temporary accommodations

24. The Council accepted it had handled Miss K’s move between the temporary accommodations poorly and the notice she had received was not reasonable. It apologised for the distress this caused but said its officer had not acted maliciously and it had not failed it its duty of care.
25. I agreed with the Council. The notice it provided Miss K was too short and not suitable. This is fault which was unnecessary as it had cancelled the agreement with the private landlord three weeks before it told Miss K about her move. I have seen no good reason why the Council could not have given her the four weeks’ notice it gave the landlord.
26. I found the Council’s apology was not enough the remedy to injustice this caused Miss K. This is because:
• I have seen no evidence Miss K was offered any advice, support, or funds to help her move to the new accommodation;
• Miss K told the Housing Officer about her concerns about the move due to her work, son’s school and her mental health issues, including her lack of funds and access to a van to help her move her belongings. I acknowledge she may still have experienced distress due to the move, however, I am satisfied this would have been less, had the Council had given Miss K reasonable notice about the move. This is because she could have started to make arrangements to change her son’s school and other practicalities;
• the Council misunderstood Miss K’s travel concerns. It is clear to me that Miss K told the Council she would have additional travel from her new accommodation to the neighbouring Borough for her work and her son’s school. The four hours of travel was during the day to go to and return from these. The Council’s lack of understanding and acknowledgement of this caused Miss K some limited distress; and
• on balance, I accept Miss K had additional removal costs due to the short period of time she had to arrange this with a removal company.
27. I acknowledge Miss K had increased rental costs and bills in her new accommodation, in particular as she is working. However, I have not found the Council at fault on this matter. This is because there is no evidence the costs are above the amount which would be considered affordable for her.

Suitability of accommodation

28. Miss K told the Council she was not happy about the new temporary accommodation due to its location, size, and the lack of or standard of the white goods available. She also raised concerns about the affordability of the accommodation. She did so within 21 days of moving to the accommodation.
29. I acknowledge Miss K’s concerns were part of her complaint about the Council’s handling of her move to the new temporary accommodation. And her complaint did not say she formally requested a suitability review of the accommodation.
30. The Council has therefore not considered the suitability of the new accommodation. However, I have seen no evidence the Council told Miss K about how she could request a suitability review. I would have expected this to be included in its complaint responses to her as she had referred to such concerns. I therefore found it to be appropriate for the Council to consider any suitability concerns Miss K wishes to bring to the Council’s attention within 21 days of my final decision.

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Agreed action

31. To remedy the injustice the Council caused to Miss K, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise in writing to Miss K, and pay her £250 to acknowledge the distress its short notice the move to the new accommodation caused her and her son;
2. pay Miss K a further £250 to acknowledge the additional removal costs she had as a result of the short notice she had to move.
32. Within three months of the final decision the Council should also:
1. remind its staff to ensure reasonable notice is given to housing applicants when the Council decides to move them to new accommodations. This includes giving consideration to individuals needs and circumstances such as the impact on an applicant’s mental health and the time it takes to transfer to new schools.

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Final decision

33. There was fault which caused an injustice. The Council has agreed with my recommendations, it is on this basis I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman