Summary: Ms X complains the Council has not dealt properly with her housing because it has placed her in unsuitable temporary accommodation. The Council is at fault because it did not complete a medical review. Ms X suffered uncertainty and had to live in unsuitable accommodation. The Council should apologise, make a symbolic payment to Ms X and review its processes.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, complains the Council has not dealt properly with her housing because it has placed her in unsuitable temporary accommodation due to medical issues.
2. Ms X says she should be moved to permanent accommodation.

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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 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law, guidance and policies

7. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
8. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
9. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified about the suitability of accommodation offered to the applicant after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
10. The review must be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision and who is more senior to the original decision maker. The reviewing officer needs to consider any information relevant to the period before the decision was made (even if only obtained afterwards) as well as any new relevant information the council has obtained since the decision. (The Homelessness (Review Procedure etc.) Regulations 2018, Homelessness Code of Guidance Chapter 19)
11. Councils must complete reviews within eight weeks of the date of the review request where it is related to the suitability of accommodation.

The Council’s allocations policy

12. There are times when people need to move because of their health or a disability. Priority on health or disability grounds will only be awarded after an assessment if someone in the household has a severe long-term limiting illness, or a permanent and substantial disability AND their health or quality of life is severely affected by the home they live in. (Paragraph 130 Allocations policy)
13. An officer in the Lettings Team will make decisions on medical applications and may ask qualified health advisers to recommend who should be given additional preference for housing on health or disability grounds. (Paragraph 132 Allocations policy)
14. In reaching a decision on whether or not to make a priority award on medical grounds, an officer from Lettings, where appropriate, will have regard to comments and information from your own doctor as well as other medical professional opinions. (Paragraph 133 Allocations policy)
15. The Council can grant emergency or priority medical awards following a medical assessment. It can also consider recommendations from a health advisor about the type of property that is most suitable and essential on health grounds.

What happened?

16. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
17. Ms X was placed in temporary accommodation in July 2024. She complained about the suitability of this accommodation and the Council agreed to complete a suitability review.
18. Ms X withdrew her suitability review request in mid-July 2024. She contacted the Council saying she was unable to go through the process again due to her mental health circumstances.
19. In August 2024, the Council informed Ms X that she would have to complete a medical assessment form. Ms X returned the completed medical assessment form to the Council in mid-October 2024. The Council told Ms X it had commenced a medical assessment process, which could take 12-24 weeks.
20. In early February 2025 an Occupational Therapist (OT) report was completed about Ms X’s family housing and support needs.
21. In May 2025, Ms X complained to the Council that she had been placed in unsuitable accommodation. The Council did not uphold her complaint, and said Ms X should use the correct process, the statutory review process and not the Council’s complaints process.
22. The landlord providing Ms X’s accommodation said it wanted the property back. Ms X has been evicted from that temporary accommodation. The Council has provided Ms X with alternative temporary accommodation.

Analysis

23. Ms X made and withdrew a suitability review request in July 2024. The Council accepted that it was not appropriate for Ms X to ask for a suitability review because it told her that she should complete a medical assessment instead.
24. The Council accepts it did not complete Ms X’s medical assessment. It should have done this. I agree this is fault by the Council.
25. The OT report in February 2025 said Ms X’s daughter had complex medical circumstances and that she had difficulty with external stair mobility. It also noted Ms X’s current property was 2nd floor unlifted. It stated a solution would be rehousing to a lifted property.
26. The Council has indicated in its complaint response, that
• Ms X has been on the Housing Register for over three years, and the waiting time for a three bedroom property is 12 years.
• issues around the suitability of temporary accommodation should be addressed through the statutory review process;
• if Ms X requested a suitability review, it would likely be successful given the information contained in the OT report from February; and
• if a property is deemed unsuitable, it had a duty to provide her with suitable alternative temporary accommodation.
27. On the balance of probabilities, if the Council had completed the medical assessment, it would have concluded that Ms X’s accommodation was not suitable or granted her discretionary additional priority under its allocations policy. Ms X would have been offered alternative temporary accommodation earlier, because this is the view it expressed in its complaint response.
28. Ms X suffered uncertainty and she had to live in unsuitable accommodation between February 2025 and her eviction in January 2026.

Guidance on Remedies

29. Where a complainant has been deprived of suitable accommodation during what would inevitably have been a stressful period in their life, our recommendation for symbolic financial redress is likely to be in the range of £150 to £350 a month. But we may recommend a higher monthly amount in cases where the injustice is exceptional or particularly severe. We assess each case on its merits and consider the impact the fault had on the complainant and other members of their household.
30. We have set out below the factors we take into account, but this is not an exhaustive list.
• The size of the accommodation – are there enough rooms for the household?
• The condition and state of repair of the accommodation.
• Are toilet and bathing facilities private or shared with other households?
• Are there adequate facilities to store, prepare and cook food?
• The age of the household members.
• Any disabilities or vulnerabilities of the household members.
31. I have considered Ms X’s individual circumstances including the medical information available when making my recommendations below.

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Action

32. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused by the fault I have identified, the Council should take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Ms X for the fault found. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Ms X £2,200 in respect of having to live in unsuitable accommodation for a 11 month period, at a rate of £200 a month.
• Review its processes for monitoring the progress of medical assessments to ensure they are completed.
33. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

34. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman