Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to treat her daughter, Miss Y, as homeless due to fleeing domestic abuse when she approached the Council in September 2019. Mrs X also complains that having accepted a homeless application, the Council failed to correspond with the refuge to enable Miss Y to remain there; produced a generic, unachievable personalised housing plan; and failed to provide her with suitable temporary accommodation. The Council’s failure to identify and consider whether its homelessness duties were engaged in October 2019 amounts to fault. As does its failure to provide Miss Y with suitable temporary accommodation in line with its homelessness duty. There was also fault in the complaint process. These faults have caused Miss Y and Mrs X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complains the Council failed to treat her daughter, Miss Y as homeless due to fleeing domestic abuse when she approached the Council in September 2019. It instead gave her low priority on housing register, having wrongly treating her as having a right to remain in her current accommodation, at a refuge, for a year.
2. Mrs X also complains that having accepted a homeless application, the Council failed to correspond with the refuge to enable Miss Y to remain there; produced a generic, unachievable personalised housing plan which did not take account of the fact Miss Y had fled domestic abuse; and failed to provide her with suitable temporary accommodation. As a result, Miss Y had to sofa surf for over four months.
3. In addition, Mrs X complains of delays in the Council’s complaint process.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
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

6. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mrs X;
• Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Homeless applications

7. 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.
8. If a council has ‘reason to believe’ someone may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it must take a homelessness application and make enquiries to establish if the council has a duty to assist them. 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) 
9. Councils should work with the person to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the person to take to help them keep or find suitable accommodation. These steps must be tailored to the household and provided to the person in a personalised housing plan (PHP). The PHP must be kept under review and updated as circumstances change. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
10. If a council is satisfied someone is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance it must take reasonable steps to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. This is known as the council’s prevention duty. (Housing Act 1996, Section 195)
11. If a council is satisfied someone is homeless and eligible for assistance it must take reasonable steps to secure accommodation for them. This is known as the council’s relief duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
12. 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)
13. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)

Housing Allocations

14. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
15. Councils must award “reasonable preference” to certain categories of people. These are:
• people who are homeless (within the meaning of homelessness law)
• people owed a duty as a homeless person under certain sections of the Housing Act 1996
• people occupying insanitary overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing
• people who need to move on welfare or medical grounds
• people who need to move to a particular area to avoid hardship to themselves or others

The Council’s Housing Allocation Scheme

16. The Council’s housing allocation policy places applicants into bands based on the level of urgency of their respective housing need. There are four band. Applicants with the most urgent housing needs are placed in Band 1, and those in Band 2 have a higher need than Band 3. Those in Band 4 have no reasonable preference but qualified for other specified reasons.
17. The scheme sets out special rules for the bands. Applicants in Band 1 will have this priority for up to 12 weeks, and during this period the Council will make one reasonable and suitable offer of accommodation. Homeless applicants in Band 1 will have four weeks to place a bid after this time, the Council will place bids on their behalf.
18. Similarly, the Council will place bids for applicants in Band 2 who are owed a Prevention or Relief duty that do not actively bid.
19. The Council allocates properties using a choice based letting scheme. Applicants must bid for properties they wish to be considered for and are eligible for. All applicants can bid for any property of the right size and type. But properties are advertised with a preference for a specific band and applicants in that band will be considered first for that property. However, any bid from a Band 1 applicant will receive preference above bids from applicants in other bands.

What happened here

20. Miss Y was fleeing domestic abuse and, with the assistance of the police, moved into supported accommodation in July 2019. Mrs X refers to this accommodation as a refuge. The Council states the accommodation was not a refuge at the Miss Y moved there, but subsequently gained this status during her stay. I have used the term refuge throughout this statement to refer to the supported accommodation. Miss Y signed a licence which allowed her to stay in the refuge on a short term basis. The licence was not for a fixed term and could be ended by 28 days notice.
21. In September 2019 Miss Y made an application to join the housing register. She states she hand delivered the application to the council offices but when she chased an update a few weeks later the Council could not find the form. Miss Y submitted another application in October 2019. The Council accepted the application and placed Miss Y in Band 3 as she was neither a tenant nor an owner.
22. Miss Y did not consider this was the correct banding and asked for it to be amended. Mrs X states the refuge also contacted the Council to support her request, but she remained in Band 3. Miss Y routinely bid on properties but was unsuccessful.
23. On 6 July 2020 Miss Y told the Council the refuge had given her four weeks’ notice and asked her to leave by 3 August 2020. The Council carried out a risk assessment a few days later and asked Miss Y to provide further documentation, including a copy of the notice. The Council confirmed the notice was valid and allocated Miss Y a housing options officer, on 21 July 2020. The officer completed a needs assessment and asked for Miss Y’s priority on the housing register to increase to Band 2.
24. The Council accepted a Prevention duty on 31 July 2020 and sent Miss Y a copy of the needs assessment and a PHP. It also contacted the refuge to agree an extension to Miss Y’s licence and advised Miss Y she would not have to leave on 3 August 2020.
25. Mrs X states Miss Y spoke to a new housing officer on 18 August 2020 to get advice on bidding on a property in a ‘village location’. Mrs X states the officer was rude, negative, dismissive, and unhelpful so Miss Y asked Mrs X to deal with the Council on her behalf.
26. The Council had agreed a further extension with the refuge which was due to expire on 25 September 2020. On 18 September 2020 the Council asked the refuge to extend this again, but the refuge refused. Mrs X states the refuge refused the request as the Council had not maintained contact with the refuge or kept it informed of it actions to assist Miss Y. Mrs X states she wrote to the refuge who then agreed to an extension to 2 October 2020.
27. In late September the Council offered Miss Y temporary accommodation. Mrs X rejected the offer of temporary accommodation as it was in an area previously identified as being a risk. The Council advised Mrs X that the only accommodation available outside the risk areas identified was B&B accommodation. Mrs X did not consider this suitable but subsequently agreed and Miss Y moved into temporary accommodation on 2 October 2020.
28. On 7 October 2020 the Council wrote to Miss Y ending the Prevention duty and accepting a Relief duty. The Council sent Miss Y a new PHP and amended her status on the housing register. Mrs X was unhappy with the PHP and the suggestion it covered all of the things the Council had discussed with Miss Y. Mrs X had previously raised concerns about elements of the plan which she considered were generic, inaccurate, intrusive, and unreasonable. She requested a review of the plan.
29. Miss Y had to leave the temporary accommodation on 26 October 2020 as she did not consider it safe to remain there. Mrs X notified the Council that Miss Y would now be sofa surfing. I have not received any evidence that the Council offered or attempted to identify alternative temporary accommodation for Miss Y.
30. The Council sent Mrs X a review of the PHP in early November 2020. The Council noted the issues Mrs X had raised related to the steps Miss Y should take to resolve her homelessness, rather than the steps the Council should take. As Miss Y did not have a right of appeal against these steps, the Council had only reviewed the steps the Council had taken. It was satisfied the steps included in the plan were justifiable and reasonable. The Council accepted that the plan could look generic as another person in a similar situation could have the same steps on their plan. But the Council was satisfied the officer had tailored the plan to Miss Y’s needs. Mrs X disputes this.
31. Miss Y contacted the Council in late November 2020 as the Council’s online system stated she had accepted an offer on a property and could not bid. The Council confirmed this was an error and that it had cancelled her application as Miss Y had not returned a form confirming she wanted to remain on the register. The Council had sent the form to Miss Y’s previous address. It reinstated her application.
32. On 4 December 2020 the Council wrote to Miss Y advising the relief duty had ended. It accepted the main housing duty to Miss Y and confirmed it would secure temporary accommodation for her. The Council also increased Miss Y’s priority on the housing register to Band 1. The Council wrote to Mrs X offering Miss Y temporary accommodation. It states Mrs X did not acknowledge this offer. The Council has not provided evidence of any discussion with Mrs X in relation to this property or its suitability; or Mrs X’s refusal. The Council did not end the main duty following the refusal of this offer.
33. In January 2021 Miss Y successfully bid on a property. She moved into the property on 1 March 2021 and the Council ended its main housing duty on 14 May 2021.

Complaints

34. In early September 2020 Mrs X submitted a formal complaint about the way the Council had dealt with this matter. She was unhappy the Council had:
• Lost Miss Y’s first application in September 2019
• Placed Miss Y in Band 3 when she was fleeing domestic abuse and then failed to correct this;
• Taken 25 days to process Miss Y’s homeless application when the notice period was only 28 days; and
• Allocated Miss Y a housing officer who immediately left, and then delayed in allocating a new officer.
35. Mrs X also complained about the new housing officer’s attitude and their failure to respond to emails and telephone calls. Mrs X subsequently complained that the Council had wrongly refused to allow Miss Y to bid on properties in ‘village locations’. Mrs X asserted Miss Y did not need a local connection as her circumstances met the criteria for an exempt category.
36. The Council acknowledged the complaint and confirmed it would respond by 5 October in accordance with its complaints policy. Mrs X challenged this as the Council’s policy provides for a response within five working days in priority cases. She discussed her complaint with a senior officer on 14 September 2020, who then confirmed he would respond by 21 September 2020.
37. Mrs X raised further complaints with the Council on 21 September 2020. The Council did not respond to Mrs X’s initial complaint by the 21 September 2020 deadline. It advised Mrs X it would respond to all of her concerns by the original timeframe of 5 October 2020 as it had now offered Miss Y temporary accommodation.
38. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint on 5 October 2020. It stated it could find no evidence the Council had lost a housing application form in September 2019. The Council considered it had correctly assessed Miss Y’s application and placed her in Band 3 in accordance with it policy. Although Miss Y suffered domestic abuse, at the time of her application she had moved out of this situation and was housed in temporary accommodation and was not in immediate danger. The Council stated Miss Y was not homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days and had a licence agreement to stay until July 2020.
39. The Council noted it had since accepted a homeless duty to Miss Y and had increased her priority to Band 2. It explained there were very few applicants in Band 1 and that there were applicants in Band 2 with an earlier registration date than Miss Y who would be successful before Miss Y if they bid on properties with Band 2 preference.
40. In addition, the Council acknowledged it would have been preferrable if it had taken immediate action on Miss Y’s homeless application in July 2020. But its staffing situation and the added burdens during the COVID pandemic meant that was not possible. The Council advised the housing officer refuted that they had been unhelpful and believed they had shown empathy. The officer was new, and a senior officer has shadowed her and found her approach to be helpful and supportive.
41. As Mrs X was not satisfied by the Council’s response she asked for it to be reviewed at stage two of the Council’s complaints process. The Council appointed an officer to investigate and confirmed Mrs X would receive a response by 4 November 2020. The investigating officer subsequently informed Mrs X they would be unable to meet this deadline but expected to complete their investigation by the end of November 2020. As the officer then withdrew from the investigation the Council told Mrs X its legal team would investigate her complaint.
42. The Council then asked Mrs X to agree to the head of service investigating her complaint. Mrs X refused as this officer had signed off and agreed with the stage one report, and that this was not in line with the Council’s policy. The Council then reassigned Mrs X’s complaint and confirmed she would receive a response by 15 December 2020.
43. It did not meet this time frame but responded on 18 December 2020. The Council considered Mrs X’s concerns about the stage 1 response and noted Mrs X’s main underlying issue was that Miss Y should have been classified as homeless at the point she fled domestic abuse and should have received a higher priority than Band 3.
44. The Council reiterated that the first record it has of an application for the housing register was 18 October 2019, not September. It stated that if Miss Y had presented herself to the Council as homeless at the point she fled domestic abuse the Council would have accepted her as homeless. However, at the time she applied to join the housing register she had 12 month fixed term accommodation and was not therefore classed as immediately homeless. The Council had sought advice from the National Homelessness Advice Service (NHAS) on whether its position was correct.
45. Based on the information provided by the Council, the NHAS concluded that as Miss Y was in a self-contained property and there were no concerns over her safety or the suitability of the accommodation it was reasonable for her to occupy it for the fixed term period. The Council concluded it was appropriate to place Miss Y in Band 3. It also acknowledged it could have kept Mrs X more up to date with the progress of her complaint and that it could have recognised Miss Y was upset during part of her interaction with the Council.
46. As Mrs X remains dissatisfied with the Council’s response, she has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. In response to my enquiries the Council states it has worked hard with Miss Y and Mrs X to address Miss Y’s homelessness. It considers it has remained professional at all times and responded to Mrs X’s enquiries and has addressed her complaints with proper investigations.
47. The Council asserts it has responded correctly to Miss Y’s report of homelessness and her housing register application. It states it handled Miss Y’s homeless application without delay and accepted duties and awarding priority in accordance with its allocations policy. It also provided Miss Y with interim accommodation when requested.
48. In response to the draft decision, Mrs X has reiterated that Miss Y approached the Council with a priority need for housing due to significant domestic abuse and that the Council denied assistance for nine months. She states this had a significant impact on Miss Y’s mental health, causing her anxiety and distress during a period when she was already vulnerable.
49. The Council has also responded to the draft decision and highlighted that this period coincided with a national pandemic when the Council was struggling to cope with the demands placed on it. It states the number of approaches as homeless has increased by 60% and that the number of people placed in temporary accommodation was three times the level prior to the pandemic. It notes that Miss Y was provided with both suitable temporary accommodation and suitable permanent accommodation.

Analysis

50. It is unclear what happened to Miss Y’s application to join the housing register in September 2020. Miss Y maintains she hand delivered it, but the Council has no record of receiving it. We would be unable to resolve this with further investigation. I will therefore consider the Council’s action following receipt of Miss Y’s application in October 2019.
51. The Homelessness Code of Guidance says applications can be made to any department of the Council and do not need to be in any particular form. In Gibbons .v. Bury MBC [2010] EWCA a reference to impending homelessness in a housing register application was found to have triggered the duty to make Part 7 enquiries.
52. Miss Y’s application in October 2019 states she left her permanent accommodation due to domestic abuse and has been living in temporary accommodation in a shared house for women going through domestic abuse. Although Miss Y contacted the Homechoice team, rather than the homelessness team, I would have expected the Council to have identified this contact as a possible homelessness application.
53. While the Council’s responses to Mrs X’s complaints do not accept it should have accepted a homelessness application earlier, this is acknowledged in an internal email between council officers. The email notes the Council had missed that Miss Y’s application stated she was fleeing domestic abuse and was living in a refuge on licence. This suggests she was homeless. The officer suggests that the Council’s homeless duties should have kicked in at that point and Miss Y should have been awarded Band 2 priority. This was not rectified until July 2020.
54. It is disappointing that despite identifying the error the Council did not acknowledge or address it in its formal stage 2 response to Mrs X’s complaint or as part of our investigation.
55. The Council has taken advice from the NHAS. The NHAS advised the Council that in many cases an applicant who is placed in a refuge will still be deemed homeless. It states the House of Lords has held that women’s refuges should not be treated as places which it is reasonable to continue to occupy. The advice also refers to the Code of Guidance which states that accommodation such as night shelters, direct access hostels and women’s refuges are intended to provide short term accommodation and should not be regarded as reasonable to occupy in the medium or long term.
56. In relation to Miss Y’s circumstances the NHAS notes that the accommodation is self-contained and there are no concerns about its suitability or Miss Y’s safety. It concludes that this combined with the fact Miss Y has a 12 month fixed term may be enough to suggest the accommodation was reasonable for Miss Y to occupy for the duration of the fixed term.
57. However, this advice is based on inaccurate information. Miss Y did not have 12 month fixed term accommodation at the refuge. The licences are not for any fixed term, and state they are for short term accommodation and do not confer any rights or create a landlord-tenant relationship. In addition, Miss Y’s application in October 2019 states she was, at that time, in shared rather than self-contained accommodation.
58. I consider the Council’s failure to identify and consider whether its homelessness duties were engaged in October 2019 amounts to fault. This fault meant there was a delay in the Council making enquiries and in accepting the prevention and relief duties. This in turn will have meant there was a delay in Miss Y getting appropriate help under those duties.
59. It also meant that Miss Y was in Band 3 on the housing register for nine months when she would have been in Band 2. There will also have been a knock-on delay in Miss Y moving to Band 1. The Council’s records show Miss Y bid on around 30 properties between November 2019 and July 2020, when the Council moved her to band 2. She then bid on a further ten properties before the Council increased her priority to Band 1 in December 2020. Given that Miss Y successfully bid on a property within six weeks of moving to Band 1, I consider it more likely than not that but for the Council’s failings, Miss Y would have secured a property significantly sooner.
60. Having accepted a homeless duty to Miss Y the Council provided temporary accommodation at a B&B. But there is no evidence the Council offered alternative temporary accommodation when it became unsafe for Miss Y to remain at the B&B in late October 2020. The Council asserts Miss Y left the accommodation, it did not withdraw it, so there is no fault on its part. It does not however dispute Miss Y’s reasons for leaving or suggest the property remained suitable for her to occupy. Nor is there evidence the Council advised Miss Y of her right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation or that it considered itself as having discharged its duty to secure accommodation for Miss Y. The documentation suggests the Council was aware Miss Y did not have alternative accommodation when she left the B&B and would be sofa surfing. I consider the Council’s failure to provide Miss Y with temporary accommodation in line with its homelessness duty amounts to fault.
61. I also consider there to be fault in the way the Council responded to Mrs X’s complaints. The Council did not respond in line with its own timeframes and there was unnecessary confusion regarding who would complete the stage two investigation, which added to the delay.
62. Mrs X states the housing officer was rude, negative, dismissive, and unhelpful. The Council disputes this. As there are no recordings of Miss Y’s conversations with the housing officer I am unable to confirm the manner or tone of what said.

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Agreed action

63. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss Y for the difficulties, distress and anxiety its failure to take a homelessness application in October 2019 and to provide temporary accommodation has caused.
64. The Council has also agreed to pay Miss Y:
• £500 in recognition of the uncertainty, distress and frustration she experienced at the loss of opportunity to secure a property via the housing register earlier, as a result of the Council’s failure to take a homelessness application and award band 2 priority in October 2019; and
• £600 (£150 per month) in recognition of the period Miss Y spend sofa surfing as a result of the Council’s failure to provide suitable temporary accommodation;
65. In addition, The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and pays her £100 in recognition of the unnecessary time and trouble she has been put to in trying to resolve this matter.
66. The Council should take this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.
67. The Council has agreed to provide reminders/training to ensure that staff understand the Council’s duty to accept homelessness applications and make Part 7 enquiries regardless of the format of the application or which department receives the application.
68. The Council should take this action within two months of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

69. The Council’s failure to identify and consider whether its homelessness duties were engaged in October 2019 amounts to fault. As does its failure to provide Miss Y with suitable temporary accommodation in line with its homelessness duty. There was also fault in the complaint process. These faults have caused Miss Y and Mrs X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman