Summary: The Council was at fault for not providing Mr X with interim accommodation sooner, delays in communication and complaint handling. This caused Mr X injustice as he had to spend time sleeping on the street. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr X. The Council also agreed to consider what measures it could put in place to ensure there is adequate cover to respond to homeless applicants when staff are on leave.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council delayed in providing him with interim accommodation after he presented as homeless. This caused Mr X to spend four weeks living on the street before the Council provided him with accommodation.

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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. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

4. As part of this investigation, I considered the complaint made by Mr X and the responses from the Council. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council. I sent a draft of this decision to Mr X and the Council for comments.

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What I found

Legislation and statutory guidance

5. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code of Guidance) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
6. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan (PHP). (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
7. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
8. 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. The threshold for triggering this duty is low as councils only need to have reason to believe, rather than be satisfied applicants are eligible for assistance, homeless and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 15.4 and 15.5)
9. 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 (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

What happened

10. Mr X suffers with back pain, a neurological pain condition, depression and PTSD. In early January 2021, Mr X completed an online self-assessment form as his landlord, who he lived with, had asked him to leave his property.
11. The Council assessed Mr X on 1 February 2021 and completed a PHP for him setting out the steps he and the Council would take to prevent homelessness. The Council also accepted the relief duty towards Mr X, so agreed to help take steps to help secure him accommodation. Mr X provided the Council with medical evidence which included a psychology discharge report letter and a letter regarding his neck and back pain.
12. Mr X was evicted from his property on 5 February 2021. During February 2021, Mr X attempted to contact his caseworker at the Council but did not get a response. Mr X sought the assistance of a representative who emailed the Council on 19 February 2021 to ask for interim accommodation and a review of his PHP. The Council did not respond to this email.
13. On 5 March 2021, Mr X resubmitted his psychology report with an email from the hospital who provided it saying he was still known to their service. The Council provided Mr X with interim accommodation.
14. Mr X’s representative complained to the Council about the time it took to provide Mr X with interim accommodation. The Council initially did not register the complaint due to an administrative error.
15. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint on 14 June 2021. The Council:
• Apologised for the delay in responding and said this was due to an administrative error. The Council said it had raised this with the Delivery Lead who would address the issue with the relevant staff member.
• Acknowledged Mr X contacted it in February 2021 and it did not respond. The Council said Mr X’s caseworker was on leave at the time Mr X made contact and their manager did not action his correspondence. The Council also said it did not acknowledge Mr X’s representative’s email in February 2021 and apologised.
• Said Mr X provided further evidence on 5 March 2021 and at this stage the Council decided there was reason to believe he was eligible, homeless and in priority need so provided Mr X with interim accommodation.
• Upheld Mr X’s complaint for the delay in responding to him in February 2021 and delay in responding to his complaint. The Council offered Mr X £430 (£280 for the delays and £150 for any stress and inconvenience caused) to resolve the complaint.
16. Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s resolution. He asked the Council to escalate his complaint on the basis the Council should have provided him with interim accommodation sooner and delayed in responding to the complaint at stage one.
17. The Council provided its stage two response on 5 July 2021. The Council said it was not satisfied there was sufficient reason to believe Mr X was in priority need in February 2021. When he submitted the psychology report again and email from the hospital the Council decided there was reason to believe he was in priority need, so offered interim accommodation. The Council said it explained in the stage one response why it delayed in responding to his complaint. The Council said there were no grounds to increase the amount of payment offered to Mr X. The Council explained this offer was made with full denial of liability. The Council sent Mr X a form to sign in full and final settlement of his complaint.

Analysis

18. The Council was at fault for failing to respond to Mr X’s telephone calls in February 2021 and his representative’s email correspondence. At this time Mr X had been evicted so was likely trying to contact the Council for assistance.
19. The Council has rightly recognised it was at fault for not responding to Mr X and has offered him a payment to reflect the delay and distress caused. I am satisfied this is reasonable to remedy the injustice caused from the delay.
20. Mr X also complained the Council should have provided him with interim accommodation earlier. I have found the Council at fault for not providing interim accommodation sooner. This is because at the beginning of February 2021 Mr X provided the Council with several pieces of evidence from medical professionals. This included a psychology report letter. On 5 March 2021, when the Council decided Mr X did meet the threshold for interim accommodation, he resubmitted the psychology report along with an email from the hospital saying he was known to them. I cannot see what additional medical evidence Mr X provided to make the Council change its position. The Council already had the psychology report outlining Mr X’s mental health conditions. On balance I am satisfied the Council should have provided Mr X with interim accommodation in early February 2021, given it decided to offer him interim accommodation in March 2021.
21. As I have found fault I need to consider what injustice this caused Mr X. Mr X said he was evicted in early February 2021 and spent four weeks without accommodation. Mr X said he spent time on the street and slept on buses.
22. The Council was also at fault for how it handled Mr X’s complaint. The Council has rightly acknowledged it delayed in responding to the complaint at stage one and explained why. The Council also offered a remedy in its complaint response. I am satisfied the payment offered by the Council is suitable to remedy any injustice arising from the delays in responding to Mr X’s complaint.
23. However, the Council offered Mr X a payment to resolve his complaint but told him this was in full and final settlement of his complaint and the offer was made with the denial of liability. The Council should not offer a remedy in full and final settlement of a complaint as it could deter complainants from bringing a complaint to the Ombudsman. Even if Mr X were to accept the Council’s offer, he could still bring his complaint to the Ombudsman to consider. By sending complainants a form to sign which says they accept the amount as full and final settlement leads them to believe they could not pursue the matter further.

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Agreed action

24. Within one month of my final decision, the Council agreed to carry out the following and provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has done so:
• Apologise to Mr X for not providing interim accommodation sooner.
• If it has not done so already, pay Mr X the £430 the Council previously offered to recognise the delays in responding to him in February 2021 and for the delays in complaint handling.
• Pay Mr X £550 to reflect the fact he had to sleep rough for one month and for the distress this caused him. In coming to this figure, I have considered our guidance on remedies.
25. Within three months of my final decision, the Council agreed to carry out the following and provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has done so:
• Consider what went wrong in this case and look at what measures it can put in place to ensure there is adequate cover to respond to homeless applicants when staff are on leave.
• Review its complaint correspondence and either remove the phrase ‘full and final settlement’ from its complaint templates or include a section which tells complainants they can still contact the Ombudsman even if they accept a payment.

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Final decision

26. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault for not providing interim accommodation sooner, delays in communication and complaint handling. This caused Mr X injustice. 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