Summary: We have decided not to investigate this complaint about disrepair and time spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation. The Council has upheld the complaint and has agreed to remedy Miss Y’s injustice by apologising, making suitable payments to the complainant, and offering Miss Y the next suitable alternative accommodation from its housing register. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains the Council put her and her two-year-old child in unsuitable temporary accommodation then forgot about them.
2. She says the Council communicated poorly with her and she was without a housing officer.
3. Miss Y complains about disrepair in the temporary accommodation, including damp and mould caused by leaks and flooding in the property when it rains.
4. Miss Y says the situation has impacted her health, as well as her child’s behaviour who is struggling with separation anxiety because the accommodation is too small. Also, she is concerned the damp and mould is affecting their health.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 s34H(1), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and our Guidance of Remedies.

Back to top

My assessment

8. So far as Miss Y complains about the Council’s failure to resolve the issue of disrepair in her temporary accommodation, its poor communication and delays in the complaint handling process, we will not investigate this part of the complaint. The Council has upheld the complaint and has agreed to remedy the complainant’s injustice by apologising and making Miss Y a payment of £200 for the inconvenience and distress caused by its delays. Also, the Council has made several appropriate service improvements. These include: increasing its resources to address the delays and highlighting to staff the importance of early intervention in damp and mould cases to prevent similar delays in the future. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.
9. If we were to investigate Miss Y’s complaint about time spent in unsuitable accommodation, it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the Council has accepted it failed to transfer her to the next suitable two-bedroom property after its stage one complaint response in April 2026.
10. So, the Council has upheld the complaint and agreed to remedy the complainant’s injustice by:
1. apologising;
2. making Miss Y an offer of the next suitable two-bedroom accommodation from its housing register;
3. confirming Miss Y’s Band B (Main Duty) Award on its housing register and exercising discretion by backdating her qualifying date to when Miss Y first applied to join its register in May 2023 (instead of a later homelessness decision date); and,
4. as above, offering a payment of £200 for the delays.
11. These actions by the Council partly remedy the injustice to Miss Y. But, I do not consider this suitably remedies the injustice to Miss Y. This is because, if we were to investigate, we are likely to find the Council’s decision about the suitability of Miss Y’s temporary accommodation was delayed by one month given the Council inspected Miss Y’s property around mid-February 2026. This means, on balance, it could have made its suitability decision by the end of February instead of early April. This delay and failure by the Council to arrange suitable alternative accommodation meant Miss Y was left in unsuitable temporary accommodation from March 2026 until the end of August 2026 (when Miss Y moved to alternative accommodation offered by the Council).
12. We therefore asked the Council to considering taking the following additional action: in addition to the £200 payment offered, pay Miss Y £150 per month for the time spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation. That would be £900 for the six-month period between March and end of August 2026.
13. To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the action in the previous paragraph within four weeks of our final decision to put things right.

Back to top

Final decision

14. We have decided not to investigate this complaint about disrepair and time spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation. The Council has upheld the complaint and has agreed to remedy the Miss Y’s injustice by apologising, making suitable payments to the complainant, and offering Miss Y the next suitable alternative accommodation from its housing register. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman