Liverpool City Council (19 008 264)

Category : Housing > Homelessness

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 11 Feb 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss B complains that the Council has not properly dealt with her application for housing for herself and her son or a complaint about bullying. The Council was at fault because it delayed investigating her complaint. Miss B has not had her complaint investigated. The Council has arranged to investigate Miss B’s complaint and invited her to meetings so it can do so. This is a suitable remedy.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss B, complains Council has not properly dealt with her application for housing for herself and her son because it:
  • failed to provide housing when she moved to Liverpool in 2014.
  • has not properly taken into account her and her son’s personal circumstances including domestic violence, harassment and intimidation.
  • failed to properly assist with issues of disrepair at a private rented house.
  • wrongly decided she was intentionally homeless.
  • failed to provide safe temporary accommodation after she was evicted.
  • did not deal with her complaint about being bullied by the Council.

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What I have investigated

  1. I have investigated that part of Miss B’s complaint about how the Council dealt with her housing after August 2018, including the decision about her homelessness application. The final section of this statement contains my reasons for not investigating the rest of the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
  3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
  4. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  5. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened.

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have spoken to Miss B about her complaint and considered the information she has provided to the Ombudsman. I have also considered the Council’s response to her complaint and its response to my enquiries.
  2. I have written to Miss B and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments.

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What I found

  1. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
  2. If a council has ‘reason to believe’ someone may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it must take a homelessness application and make inquiries. The threshold for taking an application is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular council department. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)
  3. On reaching a decision that an applicant has priority need and is intentionally homeless, the housing authority must secure accommodation for a period of time that will provide a reasonable opportunity for them to find their own accommodation.  In determining the period of time for which accommodation will be secured under section 190(2) housing authorities must consider each case on its merits. (Housing Act 1996, section 190(2), Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 15.13, 15.14 and 15.15)
  4. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.2)
  5. After completing inquiries, the council must give the applicant a decision in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons.  All letters must include information about the right to request a review and the timescale for doing so. (Housing Act 1996, section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 18.32 and 18.33)

What happened

  1. Miss B lived in a private rented house. The landlord began possession proceedings and Miss B was evicted in October 2018. The Council decided that Miss B was intentionally homeless. It provided her with temporary accommodation between February and April 2019. Miss B found a private rented house to stay and approached the Council about disrepair and infestation problems there.
  2. Miss B complained to the Council about her homelessness decision, the temporary accommodation she was placed in and that the Council had not investigated her earlier complaint about bullying. The Council explained the homelessness decision it made and apologised for a mistake with temporary accommodation.

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Analysis

  1. The Council knew that Miss B’s landlord was taking action to evict her in early 2018. Case notes show it provided advice to Miss B about her expired housing benefit claim, the legal eviction process and how it could assist her. Case notes also show the Council did assist Miss B by helping her to try to find private rented housing before she was evicted. In early October, Miss B went to see her MP and the Council told her MP how it was assisting her and that if Miss B required temporary housing she should call the Council straight away. Miss B was evicted in October.
  2. Miss B contacted the Council saying she had nowhere to live at the end of November. The Council immediately looked to identify private rented accommodation for Miss B. Miss B refused to accept several available houses and decided to stay with family.
  3. In December 2018, Miss B instructed solicitors who wrote to the Council about her homelessness application. The Council wrote to Miss B in January 2019 saying it was minded to find she was eligible, homeless, in priority need and intentionally homeless. The Council gave Miss B two weeks to comment or provide evidence.
  4. In late January, the Council wrote to Miss B telling her it found she was intentionally homeless. The decision letter explained the Council’s decision and clearly stated that she had a right of review. Miss B did not ask for a review of the decision. This is not fault by the Council.
  5. When Miss B could no longer stay with her family the Council provided temporary accommodation in hotels. I have seen no evidence that shows any of the temporary accommodation provided was unsafe. Miss B says she and her son were forced to sleep in a bed together. The Council accept that there was a mistake with a hotel booking. Miss B did not immediately raise this with the Council until several days later. When the Council found out about the mistake, it was corrected. This is not fault by the Council.
  6. While Miss B was in temporary accommodation, the Council continued to help her to find accommodation. Miss B refused again to accept houses that were available. The Council became aware in early April 2019 that Miss B and her son were not staying at the temporary accommodation the Council had arranged. Miss B did not request any further temporary accommodation and moved into a private rented house in May 2019. The Council says it had met its duty to provide Miss B with temporary accommodation under s190(2). This is not fault by the Council.
  7. Miss B contacted the Council about problems at the private rented house she had moved into. Case notes show that the Council visited the property in June and August 2019. The Council were satisfied in September that all necessary works had been completed but Miss B had moved out of the property. This is not fault by the Council.
  8. The Council considered Miss B’s circumstances when it made a decision about her homelessness application. I have not seen any evidence that shows the Council did not properly taken into account her and her son’s circumstances. Miss B’s son was known to Children’s Services in 2016 after concerns were raised about Miss B’s partner. The case was closed after enquiries were made. I have seen no evidence that shows the Council should have had further involvement. This is not fault by the Council.
  9. When Miss B complained in February 2018, the Council said it would investigate her complaint about bullying. The Council accept that it did not do this until Miss B complained again in March 2019. This is fault by the Council. The Council has since said it will investigate her complaint and has offered multiple dates for a meeting to take place. I consider this is a suitable remedy.

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Final decision

  1. I have found the Council was at fault in the way it dealt with Miss B’s complaint. However, there is no outstanding injustice to Miss B because the Council has apologised to Miss B and invited her to meetings so it can investigate her complaint. This is a suitable remedy.
  2. I have now completed my investigation.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

  1. I have not investigated Miss B’s complaint that the Council did not deal with her housing properly between 2013 and 2018. Miss B complained about this issue to the Council in March 2018 and received a response but did not escalate it to stage two of the Council’s complaints procedure or to the Ombudsman. This is a late complaint and I have seen no good reason to accept it for investigation now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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