Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (16 003 062)
Summary
Mr X complains that the Council: failed to protect his belongings when he became homeless; did not offer him suitable accommodation; did not help him find permanent housing; would not rehouse him in central Windsor; and did not deal with his complaint about these matters properly.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the way the Council treated him when he first approached it as homeless. When he was found accommodation it was unsuitable. He complained about the way the council handled his complaint about the way it treated him.
Finding
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.
Recommendations
To remedy the complaint, the Council should:
- apologise to Mr X for the identified faults and for the injustice this caused him, and provide us with a copy of its letter;
- pay Mr X £1,050 for the three and a half months he was without any accommodation;
- pay Mr X a further £2,875 for the eleven and a half months he lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation;
- pay Mr X £250 for his time and trouble pursuing his complaint. This makes a total payment of £4,175. The Council should provide proof it has made this payment;
- amend its interim accommodation offer letters so that both are correctly titled, and provide us with copies;
- create a separate temporary accommodation offer letter and provide us with a copy; and
- review and improve its complaints handling arrangements and its Ombudsman liaison arrangements, and tell us what it has done to improve its arrangements, including those arrangements for handling complaints in relation to outsourced services.