Homelessness

London Borough of Hillingdon (19 015 867)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 01-Apr-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not assist him when he reported damp and mould in his private rented flat and refused to provide alternative accommodation. There was a delay in inspecting the flat but this did not cause a significant injustice because Mr X did not allow access to the flat when the Council asked the landlord to carry out repairs.

London Borough of Bexley (19 011 487)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 01-Apr-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council moved him twice into different temporary accommodation following assault incidents, rather than moving the perpetrators. The Council was not at fault.

London Borough of Bromley (19 016 745)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 16-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains the Council placed her in unsuitable accommodation and failed to move her despite saying it would. The Council accepts it did not provide interim accommodation while dealing with Ms X's homelessness application and left her in unsuitable accommodation for 20 months. A suitable remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X is agreed.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (19 002 717)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 16-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman found fault on Mr Z's complaint against the Council of it delaying dealing with the eviction notice he handed in and with its failure to ensure copy documents he provided were placed on his file which meant repeated requests for those he had already sent. The agreed action remedies the avoidable injustice caused. There was no fault on his remaining complaints.

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (19 017 679)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 13-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation of this complaint about the suitability of temporary accommodation. This is because the complainant has the right to request a review.

London Borough of Southwark (18 015 936)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 11-Mar-2020

Summary: The complainant says the Council delayed deciding if it owed him a duty to house him following homelessness. This delayed his right to a review of the suitability of his property. The complainant says he suffered bed bugs, vermin infestations, unclean living areas and the loss of heating and hot water due to boiler failures. The Council says it oversaw the property provider's action to eradicate bed bugs, vermin and the repair and replacement of the boiler. The Council says the complainant did not ask for a review of suitability when he gained that right following the Council's decision it owed him a housing duty. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for the delay in deciding it owed a housing duty which delayed the right to a review and the opportunity of improving circumstances through bidding on other properties.

London Borough of Ealing (18 007 339)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 10-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr B complains about how the Council has handled his housing situation from when he was homeless in January 2018 and generally how it has treated him since then. There was fault in the Council's correspondence with Mr B about his arrears but that has not caused significant injustice to Mr B.

London Borough of Ealing (19 013 504)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 09-Mar-2020

Summary: Miss X complains about the way the Council handled her homelessness case causing her to live in unsuitable accommodation with her children. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council as it kept Miss X in unsuitable property for too long and did not review her personalised housing plan. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Miss X and provide guidance to staff to remedy the injustice caused.

London Borough of Barnet (19 004 630)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 05-Mar-2020

Summary: there was no fault in the conduct of officers who dealt with Ms X's request to make a new homelessness application. We did not investigate Ms X's complaint about the action taken by officers in Children's Social Care when they were assessing her children's needs.

North Lincolnshire Council (19 009 047)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 05-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X's complaint about the quality of the housing advice and assistance he received when he was threatened with homelessness was made late. The investigation has been discontinued for this reason. There was no significant fault in the Council's handling of his complaint.