Homelessness

Aylesbury Vale District Council (19 009 474)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 22-Jun-2020

Summary: Mrs D complains about lack of assistance and a failure to follow procedures by the Council in respect of her housing. The Ombudsman has found some evidence of fault, regarding the joint tenancy and a Tenancy Deposit Scheme claim) which has already been either acknowledged by the Council in its complaint responses or remedied because of this investigation. The Ombudsman has completed the investigation and upheld the complaint because there is fault. However, there is no further action required by the Council because there is no unremedied injustice.

London Borough of Southwark (19 006 735)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 22-Jun-2020

Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council handled his homelessness application, causing him to lose the chance to review his homeless decision. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council as it did not provide Mr X with assistance to relieve his homelessness and delayed in providing Mr X with a decision on his application. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X.

London Borough of Waltham Forest (19 005 520)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 18-Jun-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed dealing with his homelessness application and provided unsuitable interim accommodation. On the basis of information seen, there was a delay in making a homelessness decision, a failure to properly consider whether interim accommodation was suitable and a delay in finding alternative accommodation for him. There was also a failure to contact him when the locks were changed at his accommodation. The Council should pay Mr X £350 for the injustice caused and review its processes.

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (19 018 515)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 03-Jun-2020

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council's failure to fix a problem with her heating and hot water at her temporary accommodation. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to properly manage the repairs. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

London Borough of Camden (19 008 943)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 29-May-2020

Summary: The Council is at fault as it did not give adequate consideration to whether Mr X was eligible for medical points in 2018. But this fault did not cause significant injustice to Mr X.

London Borough of Redbridge (19 005 735)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-May-2020

Summary: Miss B complains about the benefit advice the Council gave her when it was dealing with her homeless situation. And about its poor communications about this. The Ombudsman upholds the complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

London Borough of Hillingdon (19 014 010)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-May-2020

Summary: The Council delayed providing Mr B with interim accommodation, provided unsuitable interim accommodation and failed to follow its complaints procedure. That meant Mr B was street homeless for several days, spent six days in unsuitable accommodation and had to go to time and trouble to pursue his complaint. An apology, payment to Mr B and reminder to officers is satisfactory remedy.

London Borough of Ealing (19 016 062)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-May-2020

Summary: The complaint was about the handling of Mrs X's homelessness situation. The Council did not deal properly with correspondence, including a review request. This caused Mrs X avoidable uncertainty. To put matters right, the Council has taken steps including reviewing its decision and offering to pay £750.

Thurrock Council (19 001 697)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-May-2020

Summary: The Council is at fault for carrying out a flawed homelessness assessment for a care leaver. It is also at fault for failing to consider what housing assistance it could offer under its Children Act powers. Housing and Social Care did not work effectively together. The Council caused the complainant distress and uncertainty. The Council will apologise, make a payment to the complainant and tell the Ombudsman how it will work together better in future.

London Borough of Camden (19 007 168)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-May-2020

Summary: The Council is at fault as it delayed in taking a homelessness application when Ms X left her property due to domestic violence and delayed in reactivating her housing application. The delays caused significant distress to Ms X as she could not make an informed decision about postponing major surgery and she was housed in unsuitable accommodation for five months longer than necessary. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Ms X and making a total payment of £2000 to her.