Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Ms X’s homelessness application and the support provided when she was fleeing domestic abuse. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council:

• Failed to properly consider her homelessness application in 2021.
• Delayed in offering emergency accommodation and support when she notified the Council she was fleeing domestic abuse in 2024.

2. Ms X considers that, as a result, she and her children have lived in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We have exercised discretion to consider the events from 2021 onwards as there are good reasons to do so. This is because the injustice to Ms X could be ongoing.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because the Council acknowledged fault in response to Ms X’s complaint. The Council said it took too long to deal with Ms X’s homelessness application in 2021. It should have accepted the main housing duty in late 2021 and placed Ms X on its housing register in band C at that time to allow her to bid on properties. Had it done so, it is likely Ms X would have successfully bid on a property by early 2022. So, Ms X lived in unsuitable accommodation between early 2022 and May 2025 which is approximately 40 months longer than necessary.
8. The Council offered a payment of £6200 to Ms X to acknowledge she could have moved into permanent accommodation sooner. This payment is a proportionate remedy and in accordance with our guidance on remedies. The Council has now made a direct offer to Ms X. But we invited the Council to make an additional payment of £150 to Ms X to acknowledge she lived in unsuitable accommodation for an additional month while waiting for the direct offer.
9. The Council also acknowledged it delayed in offering support and emergency accommodation when Ms X fled domestic abuse. We invited the Council to make a symbolic payment of £300 to Ms X to acknowledge the distress caused to her.

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Agreed Action

10. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will make additional payments of £150 and £300 to Ms X. The Council should take this action within one month of my final decision.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with her homelessness application and the support provided when she fled domestic abuse. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a proportionate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman