Summary: Miss B complains the Council has not dealt with her housing needs properly. The Council was at fault because it has not taken account of information about Miss B’s health and took too long to provide adaptations. Miss B suffered a fall and injured herself. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and pay her £500 for the harm and additional risk of harm she experienced.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss B, complains the Council failed to deal with her housing needs properly because it:
• took over 4 years to review the suitability of her temporary accommodation.
• failed to carry out necessary repairs to her temporary accommodation.
• unreasonably ended its homelessness duty in her case on the basis she had refused an offer of suitable accommodation.
• is unfairly evicting her from temporary accommodation over 18 months after telling her it had discharged its duty.
• has not taken into account her representations about health issues she has suffered due to the condition of her accommodation.
• has not offered any advice or help in finding alternative accommodation.
2. Miss B says she has not been treated fairly, is being evicted and has suffered injury and distress while living in her current accommodation.

Back to top

What I have investigated

3. I have investigated that part of Miss B’s complaint about how the Council dealt with her temporary accommodation, discharged its homelessness duty, considered her health and has assisted with alternative accommodation. The final section of this statement contains my reasons for not investigating the rest of the complaint.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
5. We can consider complaints about disrepair in temporary accommodation provided to a person under its homeless duties under the Housing Act 1996.
6. 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)
7. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
8. 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)
9. 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.
10. 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)
11. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

12. I spoke to Miss B about her complaint and considered the Council’s response. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response and the supporting documents it provided.
13. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

14. 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.
15. A council must secure interim accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This becomes known as temporary accommodation once the council accepts a full housing duty.
16. Where a council has accepted a main housing duty to an applicant, it may not be able to make an offer of permanent accommodation for some time. In such cases, it may have to provide temporary accommodation during that period. Any offers of accommodation made to comply with this ongoing duty have to be suitable. If an applicant refuses a suitable offer, the authority may be able to end its main housing duty.
17. Until such time as the council’s duty is finally ended, it has a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review and if the applicant's circumstances change, the authority must reconsider whether the accommodation is still suitable. This includes considering the health needs of the household, standard of accommodation, overcrowding and location.
18. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days about the suitability of accommodation. Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
19. Councils must complete reviews of the decision within eight weeks of the date of the review request. This period can be extended if the applicant agrees in writing. The council must advise the applicant of their right to appeal to the county court on a point of law, and of the period in which to appeal. Applicants can also appeal if the Council takes more than the prescribed time to complete the review. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, 203 and 204)

What happened

20. Miss B made a homelessness application in November 2013. She was placed in a bed and breakfast before being moved to temporary accommodation in February 2014.
21. In April 2014, Miss B asked for a review about the suitability of the temporary accommodation. The Council responded finding the property suitable in May 2014.
22. Miss B complained to the Council about repairs to her property in September 2016. The Council agreed it did not respond to her complaint until April 2017. The Council inspected the property and an Occupational Therapist (OT) assessed Miss B. The OT assessment identified that the accommodation was not suitable to Miss B due to her medical problems. Bilateral banister rails on the internal stairs were recommended as an adaptation.
23. Miss B was advised a four bedroom flat was becoming available and this would discharge the Council’s obligation to her. Miss B contacted the Council and said she was not happy about the property as the rent was too high.
24. Miss B was initially not allowed to view the property before accepting it. She raised concerns and multiple viewing opportunities were arranged.
25. The Council served Miss B with a notice to quit her accommodation and wrote to her saying its duty to her had finished because she refused the offer of accommodation. Miss B asked for a review of the suitability of the permanent accommodation she had been offered. The Council found the property suitable and upheld its decision.
26. Miss B had also taken legal action against the Council concerning issues of disrepair. The Council settled the claim in July 2018 and paid Miss B £6,000 in November 2018.
27. In November 2018, Miss B raised issues saying the property was still in disrepair. The Council spoke with the managing agent and a range of work was identified and completed by February 2019. Throughout March 2019 to October 2019 Miss B spoke to and met with the Council and the managing agent about work she said was outstanding.

Analysis

Suitability reviews

28. Miss B’s requests in 2014 and 2018 for reviews to be completed regarding the suitability of her accommodation were met by the Council in the appropriate timescale. The review in 2018 considered both the physical and economic suitability of the accommodation. Miss B was advised of her right to appeal but did not do so. This is not fault by the Council.

Repairs to temporary accommodation

29. The first evidence I have seen of Miss B raising issues about repairs was by email in November 2018. I have seen a large number of emails between Miss B, the Council and the managing agent which show that the Council responded to Miss B’s quickly and a schedule of necessary work was identified as a result.
30. Emails show that work started in January 2019 and most of the issues were addressed by February. Further emails between the Council, Miss B and the managing agent show that additional concerns were raised by Miss B. It is clear the Council continued to liaise with both Miss B and the managing agent to try to resolve all the reported issues.
31. There is evidence in the emails that Miss B’s communications with the Council were initially not clear about whether problems existed regarding a boiler and a kitchen roof leak. The Council identified that Miss B had given conflicting information, clarified the facts and these issues were then rectified.
32. There is evidence from the managing agent showing Miss B’s actions had contributed to delays in fixing problems, when contractors visited the property.
33. The Council addressed issues about repairs that Miss B raised. Miss B contributed to some delays due to conflicting information she provided to the Council and her conduct in relation to contractors. This is not fault by the Council.

Ending of homelessness duty

34. Emails show Miss B was offered three opportunities to accept the property in May 2018. The Council acted to allow Miss B the opportunity to view the property before accepting it.
35. Emails and letters from the Council to Miss B show that it advised her on several occasions what the consequences of not accepting the property would be. In an email to the Council in August 2018, Miss B stated that she chose not to turn up for the final viewing appointment. By doing so, Miss B refused the offer.
36. The Council’s duty to Miss B ended when she refused the offer of permanent accommodation. This is not fault by the Council.

Representations about health issues

37. After an assessment in 2017 the Council says that Miss B’s accommodation was no longer suitable due to her medical problems and she was advised she would be moved to suitable accommodation. An OT report recommended that banister rails should be installed. It is significant that the OT report in September 2017 identified that Miss B had already suffered a number of falls, therefore the Council was clearly aware of the nature of risk to Miss B.
38. The Council did not move Miss B to other accommodation. It issued a notice to quit to Miss B in May 2018, but did not take action to evict her until October 2019 due to a lack of resources.
39. Miss B raised the issue of banister rails again with the Council in January 2019. The Council did not address the handrail problem until July and the handrail was eventually fitted in October.
40. The Council took too long to deal with the adaptation it knew was necessary. This is fault by the Council. Miss B was left in her current temporary accommodation for a long time without the handrail. Miss B was exposed to the risk of harm for two years and in April 2018, she fell and injured herself on the stairs again.

Advice and help to find accommodation

41. Miss B was offered a private rented sector 24 month tenancy, to discharge the Council’s s193(2) housing duty. As the Council was not at fault when it ended this duty, it is under no obligation to provide further assistance. The Council says it will provide advice if Miss B asks it to. This is not fault by the Council.

Agreed action

42. To remedy the injustice caused by the fault I have identified the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of this decision:
• Apologise to Miss B.
• Pay Miss B £500 for the harm and risk of harm she was exposed to.

Back to top

Final decision

43. I have found fault by the Council. I have now completed my investigation.

Back to top

Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

44. I have not investigated Miss B’s complaint about repairs to her temporary accommodation before May 2018 because this has already been resolved through legal action.
45. I have not investigated Miss B’s complaint about her eviction because she has taken legal action about this.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman