Summary: We found fault with the Council for placing Ms B in unsuitable interim accommodation. This caused her an injustice. The Council agreed actions to remedy the injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms B complained about the Council’s response when she became homeless. She said the Council placed her and her son, C, in unsuitable accommodation.
2. Ms B said the accommodation caused difficulted because of their health and mobility issues.

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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 spoke to Ms B and considered the information she provided with her complaint. I made enquiries with the Council and considered its response with relevant law and guidance.
6. Ms B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. carefully considered the comments I received before making my final decision

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What I found

Law and guidance

Homelessness

7. The Housing Act 1996 (part 7) is the core legislation outlining the Council’s duties to those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
8. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 applies to all homelessness applications made since 3 April 2018. It introduced new homelessness prevention and relief duties which cover all homeless applicants, regardless of priority need or intentional homelessness.
9. The Homelessness Code of Guidance is statutory guidance to councils on interpreting homelessness duties and carrying out their functions.
10. If someone is homeless, or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, they can seek help from the housing authority (council). They must be eligible for assistance.
11. Where the person is actually homeless, the relief duty may apply. The council will need to carry out an assessment and work with the person to develop a personalised housing plan (PHP).
12. If a council has reason to believe a person may be:
• homeless;
• eligible; and
• in priority need.

then it must provide interim accommodation for them.

13. The law does not say what type of accommodation council’s should provide. But there is a legal duty for council’s to ensure the accommodation is “suitable” for the applicant and household members (section 206). The law does not give the applicant the right to view interim accommodation and be given a reasonable period in which to consider whether to accept or refuse the offer.
14. In deciding whether accommodation is suitable council’s must have regard to:
• The space and arrangement of the accommodation.
• The state of repair and condition of the accommodation.
• Location – including ease of access to established employment, schools and specialist health care.
• The specific needs of the applicant and any household members due to a medical condition or disability.
15. There is no right to a review about the suitability of interim accommodation.
16. When a council is satisfied an applicant is in priority need and is not intentionally homeless, the relief duty ends after 56 days. The council must then complete inquiries promptly to decide if any further duty is owed (the main housing duty).
17. The suitability of accommodation offered to the applicant after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
18. Section 204 gives an applicant who is dissatisfied with the section 202 review a right of appeal to County Court. An appeal must be brought within 21 days of the applicant being notified of the review decision. The Court may give permission for a late appeal if there is a good reason why it was not made in time.

What happened

19. What follows is a brief chronology. Is does not contain all the information reviewed during my investigation.
20. Ms B lives with her young son, C. They both have health issues. Ms B attends hospital for C’s appointments. In September 2021 Ms B became homeless. The Council accepted its duty to house her and provided interim accommodation, property X.
21. Shortly after she moved into the property Ms B asked for a suitability review. The Council said she was not entitled to a review because it had not accepted the main housing duty yet.
• Ms B’s support worker emailed the Council. They said the accommodation was unsuitable because of the distance from their support network and C’s hospital.
• Ms B and C’s medical and mobility issues meant the stairs to the property were causing too much strain.
• They provided medical evidence for C.
22. Ms B was unhappy with the Council’s response to her request for a review and was unhappy with the suitability of the interim accommodation. She complained to the Ombudsman.
23. Following the Ombudsman notification of complaint to the Council it carried out a property inspection. The inspector took photos and reported issues with the property:
• The kitchen fridge blocks access to the bedroom and is difficult to manoeuvre around.
• Damp in one bedroom.
• Property has stairs to access.
24. In response to our enquiries the Council said it was not aware the property was not a ground floor flat when it housed Ms B and C there. It said to will ensure it inspects every property before it is loaded onto the database in the future.
25. It has made a transfer request and appointment for Ms B to move her and C to a suitable property. It said:

“This falls short of the standard of care the Housing Advisory Service has for our customers, there should have been better customer care”.

My findings

26. I found fault with the Council for housing Ms B and C in unsuitable interim accommodation.
27. It failed to identify the property it housed them in was not a ground floor flat. The steps to the accommodation caused both Ms B and C difficulty because of their health and mobility issues.
28. The Council also failed to properly consider the impact of the interim accommodation location. Ms B had to attend hospital with C because of his health issues. The interim accommodation was further away from the hospital and her support network. This made it more difficult for Ms B to attend appointments.
29. The Council missed an opportunity to resolve this earlier. Ms B’s support worker told the Council of the issues in September 2021. The Council failed to take any action until we became involved. This caused Ms B additional time and trouble bringing her complaint to us.
30. The fault caused Ms B and C an injustice. They lived in accommodation that was not suitable for their needs and made their life more challenging at an already difficult time. This caused them distress.
31. We welcomed the Council’s response to our investigation. It identified the issue that caused the faut and how it will take action to reduce the risk of it from happening again.

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Agreed action

32. Within one month of my final decision the Council agrees to:
• Apologise to Ms B for the faults identified in this statement.
• Pay Ms B £200 per month for the period Ms B spent in property X, in recognition of the unsuitable interim accommodation.
• Pay Ms B £150 in recognition of the additional time and trouble it caused her.

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Final decision

33. I found fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman