Summary: The Council was at fault for not providing Mr X with a rent payment card, causing him to fall into arrears. The Council was also at fault for the way it ended Mr X’s temporary accommodation. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the assistance received from the Council after applying as homeless. He complains:
• The Council did not give him a rent payment card when he moved into interim accommodation. This meant he could not pay rent and has accumulated arrears.
• The Council told him over the phone he had to leave his temporary accommodation the next day.
• The Council did not consider his circumstances properly when offering a property in the private rented sector.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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)
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 this investigation:
• I considered Mr X’s complaint and the response from the Council.
• I discussed the complaint with Mr X over the telephone.
• I made enquiries to the Council and considered the information received in response.
• I sent a draft of this decision to Mr X and the Council and considered comments received in response.

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What I found

Law and guidance

6. 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.
7. 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) 
8. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless and eligible for assistance it must take reasonable steps to secure accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the Relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
9. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
10. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
11. There are several situations where the main housing duty ends. One of which is when an applicant accepts or refuses a private rented sector offer of accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193(5) and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.41)
12. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified about the suitability of accommodation offered after a council has accepted a homelessness duty. Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer. (Housing Act 1996, section 202 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 19.3)
13. The Council’s Temporary Accommodation and Private Rented Sector Offer Placement Policy, paragraph 20, says:
• “In cases where the applicant still refuses a suitable offer of accommodation the homelessness duty will be discharged. If the applicant is resident in emergency accommodation, they will usually be asked to vacate the property within 14 calendar days and advised that no further assistance will be provided. If they are already in longer-term temporary accommodation the current housing provider would be advised that the duty has been discharged and eviction proceedings need to begin.”

What happened

14. In July 2019 another local authority referred Mr X to the Council for homelessness assistance as he had a local connection to the Council.
15. The Council met with Mr X, carried out an assessment of his needs and produced a Personalised Housing Plan. This set out the steps the Council and Mr X would take to try to find him permanent accommodation. The assessment noted Mr X suffers with PTSD.
16. The Council also secured interim accommodation for Mr X at property A. Mr X said he could not pay towards the rent as he had not received a rent card. The Council’s bed and breakfast placement memo it provided to Mr X says it will issue residents with a rent card which they will need to use weekly to pay their rent.
17. On 18 July 2019 the Council wrote to Mr X saying it owed him the Relief duty and set out the steps it and Mr X should take to try to secure accommodation.
18. In August 2019 Mr X attended a viewing at a property, however the Council later decided it was not affordable for Mr X.
19. The Council decided it owed Mr X the main housing duty on 13 September 2019 after assessing his circumstances.
20. On 25 September 2019 the Council offered Mr X property B. This was a private sector rented property offered to Mr X by the Council to end the main housing duty. Mr X viewed the property on 27 September 2019 however he raised some concerns with the Council about the heating, fridge and flooding outside the property. The Council responded to Mr X and said the landlord would have the fridge professionally cleaned and there was a drainage system outside the property. The Council also told Mr X the property had electric heating.
21. On 2 October 2019 the Council moved Mr X into new temporary accommodation at property C, as the landlord of property A wanted the building back.
22. On 7 October 2019 the Council telephoned Mr X. The notes from the telephone call show the Council told Mr X he had to leave property C the following day as he refused to accept property B. The notes also say Mr X said he did not want to accept property B and ended the telephone call. Following this telephone call the Council contacted the landlord at property C to tell it this was Mr X’s last night.
23. On 8 October 2019, Mr X left property C. The Council also sent him a letter saying it had ended its duty towards him. Mr X received this letter on 10 October 2019.
24. Mr X said after leaving property C he spent time staying at different rooms he found through the Internet. On 20 November 2019 the Council contacted Mr X to offer him a private rented property. Mr X accepted this property. The Council confirmed it made this offer even though its duty towards Mr X ended.

Mr X’s complaint

25. Mr X complained to the Council in November 2019 He said:
• The Council did not consider his PTSD when offering him property B.
• Property B was not affordable.
• He meets the Council’s criteria for it to accommodate him within the borough.
26. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint and said it had offered him another property in the private rented sector which he accepted.
27. Mr X escalated his complaint in May 2019 after completing a feedback form with the Council. He said:
• The Council did not provide him with a rent payment card and is chasing him for arrears. He said the Council has threatened to pass his details to a debt collection agency.
• He is unhappy with the Council’s decision to move him from property A so quickly.
• He is unhappy with how the Council ended his stay at property C.
28. In response to Mr X the Council said there were rent arrears on his account. It did not mention whether it provided Mr X with a payment card. The Council said it moved him from property A as the provider wanted the accommodation back. The Council said Mr X agreed to pay £100 per month towards his arrears but would be willing to revise this to £50 per week if he is having difficulty.

Analysis

29. Mr X has accumulated rent arrears from his interim accommodation at property A. He says this is because the Council did not provide him with a rent payment card, so could not pay rent. The Council’s bed and breakfast placement says it will provide residents with a payment card. The Council’s position was that it had no record Mr X did not receive a payment card.
30. 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.
31. I cannot see any evidence the Council provided Mr X with a rent payment card. When he raised this as part of this complaint, the Council did not address the issue in its complaint response. Had Mr X received a rent payment card I consider it likely he would have paid towards his rent and may not have been in arrears. On balance I consider Mr X did not receive a rent payment card, which is fault. This caused him to accumulate rent arrears at property A.
32. The Council was at fault for how it ended Mr X’s accommodation at property C. While the Council’s main housing duty towards Mr X ended as he rejected the offer of property B it told him over the telephone he had to leave the next day. This is not in line with the Council’s Temporary Accommodation Placement policy which requires 14 days notice for emergency accommodation or the commencement of possession proceedings for longer term temporary accommodation. Had the Council at the very least given Mr X 14 days notice to leave property C he would not have experienced the distress of having to look for rooms to rent on a nightly basis for the next few weeks.
33. Mr X also complains the Council did not consider his circumstances properly when offering him property B. I do not find the Council at fault. I accept the Council did not mention his PTSD in the offer letter which outlined why the Council thought property B was suitable. However, this did not impact on the suitability of the property. After receiving the offer of Property B and viewing it, Mr X raised some concerns about property C. These did not relate to any medical conditions he had but were about the heating, fridge and flooding risk which the Council responded to. In addition, Mr X has now moved into alternative private rented accommodation offered by the Council.

Agreed action

34. The Council has agreed to carry out the following within one month of my final decision and provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has done so:
• Apologise to Mr X for the faults identified.
• Write off Mr X’s remaining rent arrears for property A, in light of him not having a rent payment card.
• Pay Mr X £250 to recognise the distress caused for the way it ended his accommodation at property C.

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Final decision

35. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council which caused injustice to Mr X. The Council has agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman