Summary: Ms X complains the temporary accommodation she is living in is unsuitable due to being overcrowded and in a state of disrepair. The Council accepted the accommodation was unsuitable in June 2019 due to overcrowding but has failed to provide alternative accommodation which is fault. It has also delayed in carrying out repairs at the property.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the temporary accommodation which she is currently housed in. In particular, she says the property is unsuitable for her family’s needs due to its size and state of disrepair.
2. Ms X says the overcrowding and disrepair has caused stress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

6. The Council accepted a homelessness duty in respect of Ms X and her family in September 2005. She has been in temporary accommodation since that time and moved into her current accommodation in October 2010.
7. Ms X lives in the two bedroom property with her five children. She is able to place bids via the Council’s choice based lettings process. Ms X is able to bid on three and four bedroom properties. The information provided by the Council shows Ms X placed five bids in 2019 and one bid in 2020. Ms X’s highest placed bid in 2019 was in position 188.
8. The Council took the view in June 2019 that Ms X’s property was overcrowded. In April 2020, solicitors acting on behalf of Ms X submitted a request for a review of the suitability of the temporary accommodation Ms X is living in. In its decision the Council confirmed the property was considered as overcrowded and therefore unsuitable. It said someone would contact Ms X to review her circumstances and make the appropriate recommendation for her future housing needs. The Council asked Ms X to be patient as the Council was very busy.
9. The Council also said that it would pass her details of another housing team for it to consider making her an alternative offer of accommodation. It said it was unable to confirm any timescale for this to happen. It reminded Ms X that demand for housing outstrips supply.
10. When making enquiries I asked the Council to say what efforts it had made to move Ms X to alternative temporary accommodation since making a commitment in July 2019 to do so. In response the Council did not provide details of any specific actions it had taken to find alternative accommodation since July 2019. It just stated that there had not been any suitable accommodation to offer to Ms X since July 2019.
11. Ms X has also raised complaints about disrepair at her home. As Ms X is accommodated in temporary accommodation, the Council has a responsibility for repairs. Ms X reported some disrepair issues in June 2019 and work was carried out. However, Ms X continued to be dissatisfied and in December a solicitor wrote to the Council on her behalf detailing outstanding repair issues. The letter asked the Council to take action within 20 days. It said if agreement was not reached within that timescale it proposed to jointly instruct an independent expert to inspect the property.
12. In response to my enquiries, the Council says it sought to arrange an inspection of the property but that no inspection actually took place. The solicitor instructed the surveyor who produced a report detailing the repairs that were required. The full report was provided to the Council by 28 April. The information provided in response to my enquires shows the Council tendered out the works on 14 September and is currently awaiting confirmation of the approved contractor so the repairs can be completed.

Analysis

13. Ms X complains that the temporary accommodation she is living in is unsuitable due to its size and disrepair. I will deal with each issue in turn.

Suitability of accommodation

14. The Council accepted in June 2019 that Ms X’s property was considered unsuitable due to overcrowding. It said it would make contact with her to review her circumstances and said she would be considered for alternative accommodation. No offer of alternative accommodation has been made by the Council since June 2019.
15. Once a decision was made that the property was unsuitable, then the Council was in breach of its Section 193 duty under the Housing Act 1996. It then had a duty to provide suitable accommodation to Ms X. I note the Council asked Ms X to be patient regarding the assessment of her accommodation needs. However, 15 months have elapsed and no suitable alternative accommodation has been provided. This is fault.
16. The Council did not provide information to show what action it took to try to find suitable alternative accommodation. It only made the statement “our temporary accommodation team maintain that there have not been any suitable accommodation to offer to [Ms X] since July 2019 to date”. In response to my draft decision, it explained that demand for a four bedroom property far outstrips supply and so it is unable to meet all housing demands.
17. I appreciate the Council has not been able to find alternative accommodation for Ms X. However, once it decided her temporary accommodation was unsuitable it had a duty to provide alternative accommodation. Once the duty exists, the failure to provide suitable accommodation, whatever the reasons, amounts to service failure and so if fault. In reaching this view I am not saying the Council has acted in bad faith, but as an objective test, the Council had a duty it failed to carry out.
18. As a result of the fault, Ms X and her family have been in unsuitable accommodation for much longer than should have been the case. My recommendations of how to remedy this injustice are set out below.

Disrepair issues

19. The Council did complete some repairs in June 2019. However, other issues remained and have not, to date, been completed. In response to my enquiries the Council has provided a brief chronology of the actions following the letter from Ms X’s solicitor in December 2019. The Council says it intended to take some action in January but this never happened. It received the surveyors report in full in April but does not appear to have taken any action then either.
20. I accept that the surveyors report was received during lockdown but the Council has not provided any comments to suggest this was the reason for it delaying action. There is nothing to suggest it provided any explanation of the delay to Ms X or her solicitor. I made my enquiries to the Council about this complaint on 4 August. The chronology provided by the Council indicates it sought to tender out the works for Ms X’s property on 14 September, just two days before responding to my enquiries. It appears the Council took action regarding the disrepair only as a result of the Ombudsman’s investigation. The failure to take timely action regarding the repairs is fault.
21. Ms X is entitled to live in a property that is properly maintained and while there are a number of items requiring attention as detailed in the independent surveyors report, none of the issues make the property uninhabitable. Ms X has been put to avoidable time and trouble in pursuing the repairs and so a remedy for this injustice should be provided.

Agreed action

22. To remedy the injustice caused to Ms X as a result of the fault in this case the Council, within one month of my final decision, should take the following action:

• Apologise to Ms X;
• Pay her £200 for each month she has been living in unsuitable accommodation which is currently 14 months. I consider the Council should have found suitable alternative accommodation within a month of determining in June 2019 that the property was overcrowded and therefore unsuitable;
• It should take action to now provide suitable temporary accommodation for Ms X and her family. This should ideally be done within one month but if this is not done, it should continue to pay £200 for each month Ms X and her family remain in the unsuitable accommodation;
• Ensure the repairs detailed in the surveyor’s report are completed; and
• Pay Ms X £250 to recognise her avoidable time and trouble in pursuing the disrepair issues.

23. Within three months of my final decision the Council should carry out a review of the procedures and actions of its temporary accommodation team to ensure it is doing all it can to provide alternative suitable accommodation without delay.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman