Summary: Mrs X complained about the standard of temporary bed and breakfast accommodation provided by the Council and other related matters. The Council has accepted the remedial action taken by the hotel may not have resolved the vermin problem and has offered to cancel her rent arrears. We consider this to be a proportionate remedy for the distress caused to Mrs X by this fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the standard of interim accommodation provided by the Council between September 2018 and March 2019. In particular, she complains about:

• Failure to address problems with vermin.
• Conduct of her housing officer.
• Failure to provide breakfast
• Inadequate remedy offered.

2. Mrs X says this caused distress and affected her health and well-being.

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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. I discussed the complaint with Mrs X and considered the written information she provided, including several photographs she took of the matters complained about. I made written enquiries of the Council. I sent a draft version of this decision to both parties and invited comments. I took account of all the information before reaching a final decision on the complaint.

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What I found

6. In September 2018, Mrs X made a homelessness application to the Council. While the Council made a decision about her homelessness, she was provided with interim accommodation. This was a room in a bed and breakfast hotel (“the Hotel”).
7. Mrs X says the accommodation was unsuitable because the room was infested with bed bugs and there were regular mouse infestations. Both caused health problems and anxiety.
8. She also complained that breakfast was only provided on two occasions over six months, despite her paying for breakfast.
9. Mrs X says she regularly reported these problems to the Hotel. In response, the Hotel took the following action:

• Administered two bed bug treatments in October and November 2018.
• Addressed the rodent problem that the Hotel acknowledged was caused by building work leaving access holes.
• Supplied Mrs X with glue traps
• Agreed to respond to any further reports of infestation made by Mrs X.

10. Mrs X says the problems persisted. When the Council made further enquiries, the Hotel said Mrs X had not reported any further problems and had not complied with instructions she had been given to avoid recurrences.
11. Mrs X complained to the Mayor’s office on at lease three occasions and also to the Council under its complaints procedure. She also raised a complaint about the conduct of her housing officer (Officer J). Mrs X says she was rude, unhelpful and dismissive.
12. In March 2019, Mrs X moved out of the Hotel after the Council’s duty to provide accommodation ended. She owed some arrears to the Council that she had agreed to pay back by instalments.

The Council’s complaint response

13. In response to Mrs X’s complaint the Council made the following points:

• Mrs X first complained to the Mayor’s office in November 2018. The Hotel acknowledged mice may have gained access to rooms via recent building work and took steps to address the problem. Despite this, Mrs X raised the mouse problem again with the Mayor’s office in December 2018.
• The Hotel had carried out bed bug treatment to Mrs X’s room in both October and November 2018.
• The Hotel had advised the Council Mrs X had not cleaned items in her room as advised, but this was denied by Mrs X.
• The Council acknowledged that the actions by the Hotel did not solve the problem and so the Council agreed to reduce the amount Mrs X should pay by £250.
• The Council made enquiries of the Hotel about breakfast provision. The Hotel said breakfast was provided.
• Officer J disputed Mrs X’s version of events but her manager was made aware of the complaint and would deal with the matter internally. The Council apologised for any stress and anxiety caused by Officer J.

Mrs X’s complaint to the Ombudsman

14. Mrs X was dissatisfied with this outcome. She remained unhappy the Council failed to take action to properly address her complaint about the standard of accommodation, the conduct of the social worker and lack of breakfast.
15. To remedy her injustice, Mrs X says she should be reimbursed the full cost of the Hotel accommodation between September 2018 and March 2019 (approximately £7000).
16. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries the Council accepted once again the Hotel’s actions did not resolve the vermin problem that the Council would cancel the remaining balance owed for Mrs X’s stay at the Hotel (£513), plus refund £66.24 paid by Mrs X since the Council’s stage two complaint response. This was in addition to the reduction of £250 already made. The total reduction is £829.51.

Analysis

17. I will address the separate areas of complaint below.

Failure to address problems with vermin

18. The case records I have seen confirm that both the Hotel and the Council acknowledged there was a vermin problem and took action to address it. Sadly, this does not appear to have resolved the problem to Mrs X’s satisfaction.
19. Mrs X has provided a number of photographs showing bed bugs, a skin rash, dead mice on glue traps, mouse droppings and chewed food packets and papers.
20. It is not disputed that a problem existed, and the photographs I have seen confirm this. The Council has acknowledged that further action may have been necessary and offered a financial remedy to recognise this fault and the injustice caused to Mrs X.
21. The Ombudsman cannot add anything further to the Council’s investigation here.

Conduct of Mrs X’s housing officer

22. Mrs X complains more generally about Officer J’s attitude. I have considered the housing records and can find no evidence that Officer J acted unfairly towards Mrs X. The records show there were occasions where Mrs X was understandably frustrated by the delay in progressing her homelessness application and the quality of her temporary accommodation. I accept some difficult conversations may have taken place because of this. But it is possible they were difficult because Officer J was not able to resolve Mrs X’s housing situation to her satisfaction, rather than poor practice by Officer J.
23. The Ombudsman makes decisions on the balance of probabilities. In this complaint the issues relate to one person’s word against another. There is no independent witness. As I am unable to prefer one account over another, I am unable to make a finding on this part of the complaint.
24. In addition, the Council has apologised to Mrs X for any distress caused. This is an appropriate resolution, and we could not achieve any more for Mrs X.

Failure to provide breakfast

25. A similar evidential problem exists in relation to the complaint about lack of breakfast. Mrs X says it was not provided. In support of her complaint, Mrs H has provided a photograph of the communal kitchen that does not appear to have any breakfast items available.
26. However, the Hotel told the Council breakfast was provided in the form of milk, toast, cereal and hot drinks. I would not expect the Council to attend the Hotel to check that it was, it was reasonable for the Council to accept what it was told, particularly as the Hotel said this had not been raised directly by Mrs X. It is not possible, two years later, to determine what actually happened and so I am unable to make a finding in this aspect of the complaint.

Inadequate remedy offered

27. Where someone has been provided with unsuitable accommodation, the Ombudsman can recommend a payment is made to the complainant. The Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies recommends payments of between £150 and £350 per month depending on factors such as the size of the accommodation, state of repair, availability of washing/toilet/cooking facilities, age and vulnerability of occupants.
28. While the general standard of accommodation itself was not ideal, its suitability must be considered in the context of the desperate shortage of temporary accommodation in the Council area. On the evidence I have seen, I am satisfied the Hotel did appropriately respond to some of Mrs X’s reports of vermin.
29. The Council has acknowledged there may have been times when this did not have the desired effect and has offered a remedy. It is possible Mrs X may have contributed to the later recurrences by leaving food packets accessible to mice.
30. The Council has offered to reduce the accommodation cost by £829. This remedy is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. As Mrs X was provided with accommodation for a number of months, albeit not ideal, it would not be a proportionate remedy for the Council to refund the full cost of this accommodation as requested by Mrs X.

Conclusion

31. In the circumstances, I do not see there is a need for us to carry out any further investigation into Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has provided a suitable remedy for the injustice Mrs X has suffered as a result of its fault in her case. I consider it unlikely we could add anything more to the Council’s own investigation or achieve a significantly different outcome.

Agreed action

32. To remedy the injustice identified in this decision statement, the Council has agreed to cancel the outstanding balance owed by Mrs X for costs incurred at the Hotel and refund £66.24. The Council should confirm this has been done within four weeks from the date of my final decision.

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Final decision

33. The Council was at fault by not properly addressing a vermin problem in Mrs X’s temporary accommodation. The Council has taken appropriate action to remedy the injustice caused by this fault. I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman