Summary: Mrs B complained about the actions of the Council in respect of disrepair at her temporary accommodation. We did not find fault with the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complained about the actions of London Borough of Tower Hamlets (the Council) in responding to housing disrepairs issues she has had with her temporary accommodation since August 2016. Mrs B said the Council failed to address the significant issues with her temporary accommodation, which has left her and her children in overcrowded and unsafe accommodation for many years. Mrs B also complained about the Housing Team’s safeguarding referrals in 2018 and 2019 to Children’s Social Care, which she believes were malicious. Mrs B says her housing situation causes significant distress and injustice to her and her children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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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What I have and have not investigated

4. We have not investigated the events going back to 2018/19 regarding the referrals to Children’s Services as we do not consider Mrs B has provided good reasons for not complaining about these matters at an earlier point. We also have not investigated the disrepair issues prior to 2022 for the same reasons.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Mrs B 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

Background

6. In 2011 the Council accepted Mrs B and her children were homeless and housed them in temporary accommodation. They were moved to alternative temporary accommodation in a different borough in 2015.
7. In July 2019 Mrs B complained that the accommodation was unsuitable due to disrepair (a leak into the bedroom). The Council offered her alternative temporary accommodation. Mrs B refused the offer due to the location (too far away from the children’s schools and support network and too close to an ex-partner).
8. In September 2019 Mrs B refused a second offer of alternative temporary accommodation. She said she was happy to stay where she was as substantial work had been carried out. She said she did not want any further offers of temporary accommodation.

Complaint

9. In February 2023 Mrs B submitted a complaint to the Council about issues including delays in dealing with disrepair both in her current property and the one she moved out of in 2015.
10. The Council responded in May 2023. It said the Council had tried to gain access to the property to carry out repairs on several occasions between 2014 and 2019 but had been unsuccessful. It suggested she send in medical evidence if she wanted the Council to assess her medical needs in relation to her housing.
11. In July 2023 Mrs B escalated her complaint to stage two. She said the Council had taken too long to respond to her complaint at stage one. She complained about disrepair from the property she moved into in 2011 and said she had already sent in medical forms.
12. Her MP also sent an enquiry to the Council on her behalf requesting to be housed permanently in the area in which she had lived since 2015 (in a different borough). They also said Mrs B’s current property was not suitable due to accessibility issues and the condition of the property.
13. In November 2023 the Council completed a medical assessment, concluding Mrs B needed maximum first floor or lifted accommodation and a shower seat would be helpful. It said out of borough and privately rented property were all suitable.
14. The Council responded to her stage two complaint in February 2024. It apologised for the delay. It said it had competed her medical assessment and referred her case to an occupational therapist.
15. Mrs B complained to us on 24 February 2024.She raised the referrals to children’s services in 2015, an overpayment of housing benefit from several years ago, and disrepair from 2015 to 2019. She said she wanted to be rehoused in her current area.
16. In March 2024 the landlord issued a notice to quit as they wanted the property back. In April 2024 Mrs B approached the other council as homeless. This council made enquiries of the Council who confirmed it had a full housing duty to Mrs B which had not been discharged. In August 2024 it offered Mrs B alternative temporary accommodation.
17. In response to my enquiries the Council said all the disrepair issues were resolved in 2022. The Council has also referred Mrs B to the other council under section 213 of the Housing Act 1996 (a council can ask another authority to help it discharge its housing duty). Mrs B has sent me current photographs of her property alleging disrepair and says the Council has ended its housing duty towards her as she refused the offer of accommodation made to her in August 2024.

Analysis

18. There is no evidence that Mrs B reported new issues of disrepair between 2022 and February 2024 when she complained to us. She said in 2019 that substantial repairs had been carried out and she did not want to move to alternative temporary accommodation. In respect of new issues which have arisen after February 2024 she needs to make a new complaint to the Council to allow it to investigate the matter and respond to her.
19. The Council delayed significantly in dealing with her complaints at both stage one (three months) and stage two (seven months) but the issues raised were all historic and too old for us to investigate now.
20. In respect of her current housing situation Mrs B has the right to request a review of the decision to end the housing duty towards her and the other council will respond to the Council’s request to refer her case to them. If she remains unhappy with these actions she can make a new complaint to the Council.

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Final decision

21. I have completed my investigation into this complaint as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Mrs B and some of the issues raised are too old to complain about now.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman