London Borough of Hillingdon (19 015 867)

Category : Housing > Homelessness

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 01 Apr 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

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.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complained the temporary accommodation the Council provided for him when he became homeless in 2014 was unsuitable due to damp and mould. He said the Council had not addressed the mould and had refused to provide alterative temporary accommodation for him. He said the condition of the property was so bad he had been sleeping in his car since June 2019.

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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. 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)
  3. Mr X said he had been reporting problems with the property since 2014 but the Council had not taken action. Mr X did not make a formal complaint until 2019 and complained to us within 12 months of the Council’s response. I exercised discretion to investigate from 2014 because Mr X said he had been pursuing the Council throughout this period and was only aware he could complain to us when he received the Council’s complaint response in 2019.
  4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
  5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I spoke to Mr X and considered the information he provided.
  2. I considered the Council’s replies to my enquiries and relevant law and guidance, as set out below.
  3. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision and I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Private rented housing

  1. Councils can deal with private sector housing issues, such as reports of damp or disrepair using powers under the Housing Act 2004. Where appropriate the council may carry out an inspection under the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS). If it identifies a serious hazard to health, called a category 1 hazard, the council must take action. It may issue an improvement notice to the landlord requiring them to carry out repairs to at least remove any category 1 hazards. Where the landlord fails to carry out the required works within the specified time frame in an improvement notice the council should consider taking enforcement action.

Homelessness

  1. A person may be viewed as homeless if it is not reasonable for them to continue to occupy the accommodation, for example, because it is not fit for habitation. In such cases, councils should take a homeless application and consider whether it has a duty to assist the person. In certain circumstances where the person is in “priority need” the council should provide temporary accommodation whilst it makes its enquiries to establish if it has a duty to assist.

What happened

  1. The Council assisted Mr X to move to a private rented studio flat in April 2014 after he became homeless. It later decided it did not owe him a housing duty.
  2. Mr X said he had problems with damp and mould from the start, which he reported to the Council but the Council has no record of this.
  3. The Council said Mr X told it he wanted to move in May 2016 but he did not say this was because of repair issues. Mr X said he wanted to move for mental health reasons. The Council said the only mention of disrepair was in the medical form, which said there was a blocked sink and toilet and drainage problems. The Council decided Mr X did not need to move. It sent him a letter setting out the reasons for its decision. Mr X had a right of appeal if he was unhappy with the decision but the Council did not receive an appeal.
  4. The Council said it had no other record of Mr X telling it about the damp and mould until July 2019. At that point Mr X told the Council the condition of the property was so bad he was sleeping in his car.
  5. The Council contacted the managing agent the same day, who said it was not aware of any problems with the property. The following day Mr X told the Council the managing agent had visited the property and would send a report to the Council. I have seen no record of the Council receiving that report.
  6. The case was allocated to officer 1 in the private sector housing (PSH) team in October 2019. On the day the case was allocated, Officer 1 wrote to the landlord and Mr X to inform them they would carry out an inspection at the property two days later.
  7. Also in October, Mr X asked the Council to find him alternative accommodation. The Council refused because it said he was not in priority need.
  8. Officer 1 carried out an inspection and identified category 1 hazards. In November 2019 Officer 1 issued an Improvement Notice requiring the landlord to carry out specified repairs. The managing agent confirmed the landlord would complete the repairs within one week.
  9. The managing agent called at the property to carry out the repairs but Mr X was not there to let them in. Council records show the managing agents tried several times to arrange to carry out the repairs between November 2019 and January 2020. The agent said it had difficulty contacting Mr X because he did not answer his phone. It also said Mr X was not at the property at agreed times to allow access for the repairs to be done.
  10. The managing agents confirmed the repairs could be carried out within one day and, if necessary, it would send extra workmen to ensure they were completed quickly. It offered to store Mr X’s belongings and to accommodate him in another room whilst work was carried out, if needed. It said Mr X did not engage with its attempts to address the problem.
  11. Also in November 2019 Mr X complained. The Council responded in early December 2019. It said officer 1 had inspected the property and asked the landlord to carry out repairs. The landlord was not able to do so because Mr X had not allowed access to the property. Officer 1 said Mr X could live at the property until the repairs were carried out or until the Council identified alternative suitable and affordable accommodation. It said officers were looking for accommodation in the private sector and would contact Mr X when a property was identified.
  12. The Council sent Mr X a decision letter in February 2020 to confirm it had decided Mr X was not homeless or threatened with homelessness. It told Mr X about his right to ask for a review if he was unhappy with its decision.
  13. Mr X also applied to the Council’s housing register. The Council considered his application but decided there was no housing need. It issued its decision in late January and told Mr X about his right of appeal.

My findings

  1. Mr X believed he was in temporary accommodation but the Council confirmed he is in private rented accommodation, which it assisted him to find.
  2. Mr X asked the Council for assistance to move to alternative accommodation in 2016. The Council decided Mr X did not need to move and Mr X could have appealed this decision if he was unhappy with it.
  3. Mr X approached the Council again in July 2019. Although it did contact the managing agent the same day, the Council took three months to allocate the case to Officer 1 to carry out an inspection of the property. Mr X had told it the condition of the property was so poor he was sleeping in his car. Therefore, I consider the Council should have acted more quickly. Its failure to inspect the property for three months was fault.
  4. After inspecting the property in October 2019 the Council issued an Improvement Notice requiring the landlord to carry out specified repairs. The landlord was not able to carry out the repairs because Mr X did not allow access to the property. Therefore, the delays in inspecting the property did not cause Mr X an injustice because he did not allow access to the property when the Council asked the landlord to carry out repairs.
  5. The repairs still need doing but this cannot happen until Mr X agrees to allow access. He will need to be at the property when the workmen call to let them in. He will also need to remove his belongings whilst the work is carried out but the landlord has agreed to assist by storing them for him.
  6. When Mr X told the Council he was sleeping in his car due to the poor conditions of the flat, the Council should have considered whether he was homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It is not clear it did so until Mr X complained in November 2019, by which time it had inspected the property. However, I do not consider this warrants a further finding of fault since it is essentially the same period of delay and I have already concluded this did not cause an injustice to Mr X.
  7. In response to the complaint, the Council said he was not threatened with homelessness because the flat would be habitable if the repairs were done. The Council has now issued a decision letter to confirm its decision and explain the review and appeal rights. If Mr X is unhappy with that decision he can ask the Council to review it.
  8. Mr X also applied to the Council’s housing register but the Council decided he had no housing need. Mr X has a right of appeal if he is unhappy with that decision or if his circumstances have changed and it is appropriate for him to exercise that right.

Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault but this did not lead to significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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