London Borough of Houslow (13 014 921)
Summary
Complaint from a woman about the way the council dealt with her when she was homeless. The council failed to provide her with accommodation while it made enquiries about her circumstances.
The complaint
Complaint from a woman about the way the council dealt with her when she was homeless. The council failed to provide her with accommodation while it made enquiries about her circumstances. The council also took too long to review its decision that the woman was not in priority need and failed to follow the correct process for carrying out the review. Overall it took the council 62 weeks to reach a final decision about the woman's circumstances when the law and guidance says it should take approximately 15 weeks.
Finding
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.
Recommendations
Within two months of the report being issued the council should:
- pay the woman £1,100 for stress and anxiety caused by delays in dealing with her homeless review which in turn delayed her being offered permanent accommodation by 11 months;
- pay the woman £100 for stress and anxiety caused as a result of failing to provide interim accommodation between 9 and 29 November 2011;
- pay the woman £250 for her time and trouble pursuing her complaint; and
- write to the woman to apologise for the way it has treated her.
The council should also take the following action to improve the services it provides to local people within three months of the date of this report:
- provide refresher training for staff about homeless legislation and the council's homeless policies, especially those relating to domestic violence; and
- provide training to staff in the homeless department on the council's complaints process to ensure complaints are identified and dealt with properly.
The council has provided us with evidence of its recent performance in dealing with homeless reviews. The council's average time for dealing with reviews during the past year was approximately 40 days. However the council passed 15 reviews back to the original decision maker. The council has confirmed it will stop this practice.
The council has agreed to take the action recommended by us and has appointed an Independent Housing Review Officer who is responsible for carrying out all homeless reviews for the council.
Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 25 July 2016